■' 


m 


f  rontcnac  ISliition 


FRANCIS   PARKMAN'S   WORKS 
VOLUME  rivo 


C^pyrtaht   iSaj   hv   liUu     B->'n'l   Sr 


jfr0tttcnaf  (gaittait 

Pioneers  of  France 

in  the 

New  World 

[France  and  England  in  North  Atiierica 
Part  ¥irst^ 

BY 

FRANCIS  ,  PARKMAN 

IN    TWO    VOLUMES 
Volume  Two 


BOSTON 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND    COMPANY 

1902 


Copyright,  iSds,  /SSj, 
By  Francis  Parkman 

Copyright,  iSgy, 
By  Little,  Brown,  and  Company. 


jill  rights  reser-ved. 


2Inibfrsitg  IPrrss: 

John   Wilson  and  Son,   Cambridge,    U.S.A. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAMPLAIN  AND  HIS  ASSOCIATES. 

Page 
Prefatory  Note 3 


CHAPTER  I. 
1488-1543. 

EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE    IN   NORTH   AMERICA. 

Traditions  of  French  Discovery.  —  Cousin.  —  Normans,  Bretons, 
Ba.'^ques.  —  Legends  and  Superstitions.  —  Francis  the  Fir.st.  — 
Verrazzano.  —  His  Voyage  to  North  America.  —  Jacques 
Cartier. — His  First  Voyage. —  His  Second  Voyage.  —  An- 
chors at  Quebec.  —  Indian  Masciuorade.  —  Visits  Hochelaga. 
—  His  Reception.  —  Mont  Royal.  —  Winter  at  Quebec.  — 
Scurvy.  —  Wonderful  Cures.  —  Kidnapping.  —  Return  to 
France.  —  Roberval.  —  Spanish  Jealousy.  —  Cartier's  Third 
Voyage.  —  Cap  Rouge.  —  lioberval  sails  for  New  France.  — 
His  Meeting  with  Cartier.  —  Marguerite  and  the  Isles  of 
Demons.  —  Roberval  at  Cap  Rouge.  —  His  Severity.  —  Ruiu 
of  the  Colony.  —  His  Death 

CHAPTER  n. 
1542-1604. 

LA  ROCHE. CHAMrLAIN.  —  DE  MONT9. 

French  Fishermen  and  Fur-Traders.  —  La  Roche.  —  His  Voyage. 

—  The  Convicts  of  Sable  Island.  —  I'ontgravc  and  Chauviu. 

—  Tadoussac.  —  Henry  the  Fourth.  — Tramiuillity  restored  in 


4-.35'7S2 


vi  CONTENTS. 

Page 

France.  —  Samuel  de  Champlain.  —  He  visits  the  West  Indies 
and  Mexico.  —  His  Character.  —  Do  Chastes  and  Champlain. 

—  Champlain   and  Pontgrave  explore  the  St.  Lawrence. — 
Death  of  De  Chastes.  —  De  Monts.  —  His  Acadian  Schemes. 

—  His  Patent 51 

CHAPTER  III. 
1604,  1605. 

ACADIA   OCCUPIED. 

Catholic  and  Calvini.st.  —  The  Lost  Priest.  —  Port  Roj'al.  — 
The  Colony  of  St.  Croix.  —  Winter  Miseries.  —  Explorations 
of  Champlain.  —  He  visits  the  Coast  of  Mas.sachusetts.  —  De 
Monts  at  Port  Royal 68 

CHAPTER  IV. 
160.5-1607. 

LESCARBOT   AND   CHAMPLAIN. 

De  Monts  at  Paris.  —  Marc  Lescarbot.  —  Rochelle.  —  A  New 
Embarkation.  —  The  Ship  aground.  —  The  Outward  Voyage. 
■ —  Arrival  at  Port  Royal.  —  Disappointment.  —  Voyage  of 
Champlain.  —  Skirmish  with  Indians.  —  Masquerade  of  Les- 
carliot.  —  Winter  Life  at  Port  Royal.  — L'Ordre  de  Bon-Temps. 

—  Excursions.  —  Spring  Employments.  —  Hopes  blighted.  — 
Port  Royal  abandoned.  —  Membertou. — Return  to  France    .      81 

CHAPTER  V. 
1610,  1611. 

THE   JESUITS   AND    THEIR   PATRONESS. 

Schemes  of  Poutrincourt.  —  The  Jesuits  and  the  King.  —  The 
Jesuits  disappointed.  — Sudden  Conversions.  — Indian  Prose- 
lytes. —  Assassination  of  the  King.  —  Biencourt  at  Court.  — 
Madame  de  Guercheville.  —  She  resists  the  King's  Suit.  — 
Becomes  a  Devotee.  —  Her  Associates  at  Court.  —  She  aids 
the  Jesuits.  —  Biard  and  Masse.  —  They  sail  for  America       ,       99 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER  VI. 

1611,  1612. 

jesuits  in  acadia. 

Page 
The  Jesuits  arrive.  —  Collision  of  Powers  Temporal  and  Spirit- 
ual. —  Excursion  of  Biencourt.  —  Father  Masse.  —  His   Ex- 
])erience  as  a  Missionary.  —  Death  of  Meinbertou. — Fatlier 
Biard's  Indian  Studies.  —  Dissension.  —  Misery  at  Port  Royal. 

—  Grant  to  Madame  de  Guercheville.  —  Gilbert  du  Thet.  — 
Quarrels.  —  Anathemas.  —  Truce 113 

CHAPTER  VII. 
1613. 

LA    SAUS8AYE.  —  ARGALL. 

Forlorn  Condition  of  Poutrincourt.  —  Voyage  of  La  Saussaye.  — 
Mount  Desert.  —  St.  Sauveur.  —  The  Jesuit  Colony.  —  Cap- 
tain Samuel  Argall.  —  lie  attacks  the  French.  —  Death  of  Du 
Thet.  —  Knavery  of  Argall.  —  St.  Sauveur  destroyed.  —  The 
Prisoners 124 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
1613-1615. 

RUIN   OF    FRENCH    ACADIA. 

The  Jesuits  at  Jamestown.  —  Wrath  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale.  —  Sec- 
ond Expedition  of  Argall.  — Port  Royal  demolished.  —  Equiv- 
ocal Posture  of  the  Jesuits. — Jeopardy  of  Father  Biard. — 
Biencourt  and  Argall.  —  Adventures  of  Biard  and  Quentin.  — 
Sequel  of  Argall's  History.  —  Death  of  Poutrincourt.  — The 
French  will  not  abandon  Acadia 136 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1608,  1609. 

CIIAMFLAIN    AT    QUEBEC. 

A  New  Enterprise.  —  The  St.  Lawrence.  —  Conflict  with  Basques. 

—  Tadonssac.  —  The  Saguenay.  —  Quebec  founded.  —  Con- 
spiracy. —  The  Moiitaguais.  —  Winter  at  Quebec.  —  Spring.  — 
Projects  of  Exploration 149 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 
1609. 

lake  champlain. 

Page 
Champlain  joins  a  War  Party.  —  Preparation.  —  War-Dance. — 
l)ci)arture.  —  The  River  Richelieu.  —  The  Rapids  of  Chambly. 

—  The  Spirits  consulted.  —  Discovery  of  Lake  Champlain.  — 
Battle  with  the  Iroquois.  —  Fate  of  Prisoners.  —  Panic  of  the 
Victors 164 

CHAPTER   XL 
1610-1612. 

WAR. TRADE. DISCOVERT. 

Champlain  at  Fontainebleau.  —  Champlain  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 

—  Alarm.  —  Battle.  —  Victory.  —  War  Parties.  —  Rival  Trad- 
ers. —  Icebergs.  —  Adventurers.  —  Champlain  at  Montreal.  — 
Return  to  France.  —  Narrow  Escape  of  Champlain.  —  The 
Comte  de  Soissons.  —  The  Prince  de  Conde. —  Designs  of 
Champlain 179 

CHAPTER  XII. 
1612,  1613. 

THE    IMPOSTOR   VIGNAU. 

Illusions.  —  A  Path  to  the  North  Sea.  —  Champlain  on  the  Ottawa. 

—  Forest  Travellers.  —  The  Chaudiere.  —  Isles  des  AUumettes. 

—  Ottawa  Towns.  —  Tessouat.  —  Indian   Cemetery.  —  Feast. 

—  The  Impostor  exposed.  —  Return  of  Champlain. — False 
Alarm.  —  Arrival  at  Montreal 1 94 

CHAPTER  Xm. 
1615. 

DISCOVERY   OF    LAKE    HURON. 

Religious  Zeal  of  Champlain.  —  Re'coUet  Friars.  —  St.  Francis.  — 
The  Franciscans. — The  Friars  in  New  France.  —  Dolbeau.  7— 
Le  Caron. — Policy  of  Champlain.  —  Missions.  —  Trade. — 
Exploration.  —  War.  —  Le   Caron  on  the   Ottawa.  —  Cham- 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Paok 

plain's  Expedition.  —  He  reaches  Lake  Nipissing.  —  Embarks 
on  Lake  Huron.  —  The  Huron  Villages.  —  Meeting  with  Le 
Caron.  —  Mass  in  the  Wilderness 212 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
1615,  1616. 

THE    GREAT    WAR    PARTY. 

Muster  of  Warriors.  —  Departure.  —  The  River  Trent.  —  Deer 
Hunt.  —  Lake  Ontario.  —  The  Iro(juois  Town.  —  Attack.  — 
Repulse.  —  Champlain  wounded.  —  Retreat.  —  Adventures  of 
;fetienne  Brule.  —  Winter  Hunt.  —  Champlain  lost  in  the  For- 
est. —  Returns  to  the  Huron  Villages.  —  Visits  the  Tobacco 
Nation  and  the  Cheveux  Relevtfs.  —  Becomes  Umpire  of  Indian 
Quarrels.  —  Returns  to  Quebec 227 

CHAPTER   XV. 
1616-1627. 

HOSTILE    SECTS.  —  RIVAL    INTERESTS. 

Quebec.  —  Condition  of  the  Colonists.  —  Dissensions.  —  Montmo- 
rency.—  Arrival  of  Madame  de  Champlain.  —  Her  History 
and  Character.  —  Indian  Hostility.  —  The  Monopoly  of  Wil- 
liam and  Emery  de  Caen.  —  The  Due  de  Ventadour.  —  The 
Jesuits.  —  Their  Arrival  at  Quebec.  —  Catholics  and  Here- 
tics.—  Compromises.  —  The  Rival  Colonies.  —  Despotism  in 
New  France  and  in  New  England.  —  Richelieu.  —  The  Com- 
pany of  the  Hundred  Associates 245 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

1628,  1629. 

THE    ENGLISH   AT   QUEBEC. 

Revolt  of  Rochelle.  —  War  with  England.  —  David  Kirke.  — The 
English  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  —  Alarms  at  Quebec.  —  Bold 
Attitude  of  Champlain.  —  Naval  Battle.  —  The  French  Sejuad- 
ron  destroyed.  —  Famine  at  Quol)ec.  —  Return  of  the  English. 

—  Quel)oc  surrendered.  —  Another  Naval  Battle.  —  Michel.  — 
His  Quarrel  with  lirc'bouf.  —  His  Death.  —  Exploit  of  Daniel. 

—  Champlain  at  Loudon 261 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

1632-1635. 

death  of  champlain. 

Page 

New  France  restored  to  the  French  Crown.  —  Motives  for  reclaim- 
ing it.  —  Caen  takes  possession  of  Quebec.  —  Return  of  Jesu- 
its. —  Arrival  of  Cham{)Iain.  —  Daily  Life  at  Quel)ec.  —  Policy 
and  Religion.  —  Death  of  Champlain,  —  His  Character. — 
Future  of  New  France 274 


INDEX 285 


Illustrations 

VOLUME  II. 

Jacques  Cartier Frontispiecfi 

Photogravured  by  Goupil  and  Co.,  Paris,  from  the  origi- 
nal painting  by  F.  Riss,  in  the  Town  Hall,  St.  Mala, 
France. 
Jacques  Cartier  Discovers  the  River  St.  Lawrence     Page    24 
From  the  original  painting  by  Gudin,  in  the  Versailles 
Gallery. 

Samuel  de  Champlain „       60 

From  the  Ducornet  Portrait. 
Henry  TV.  and  Madame  de  Guercheville    ....        „      108 

From  a  drawing  by  F.  de  Myrbach. 

Route  of  Champlain,  1615-1616 ,      227 

He  soon  Discovered  the  Smoke  of  the  Indian  Fires        „      240 
From  a  drawing  hy  F.  de  Myrbach. 


PIONEERS  OF  FRANCE  IN  THE 
NEW   WORLD. 


part  II. 
SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN. 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

TO 

CHAMPLAIN  AND   HIS   ASSOCIATES. 


Sa]viuel  de  Champlaix  has  been  fitly  called  the 
Father  of  New  France.  In  him  were  embodied  her 
religious  zeal  and  romantic  spirit  of  adventure. 
Before  the  close  of  his  career,  purged  of  heresy,  she 
took  the  posture  which  she  held  to  the  day  of  her 
death,  —  in  one  hand  the  crucifix,  in  the  other  tlie 
sword.  His  life,  full  of  significance,  is  the  true 
beginning  of  her  eventful  history. 

In  respect  to  Champlain,  the  most  satisfactory 
authorities  are  his  own  writings.  These  consist  of  the 
journal  of  his  voyage  to  the  West  Indies  and  Mex- 
ico, of  wliich  the  original  is  preserved  at  Dieppe  ; 
the  account  of  his  first  voyage  to  the  St.  Lawi-ence, 
published  at  Paris,  in  1G04,  under  the  title  of  Des 
^auva(/es  ;  a  narrative  of  subsequent  adventures  and 
explorations,  publislied  at  Paris  in  1613,  1G15,  and 
1617,  under  the  title  of  Voyage  de  la  Nouvelle  France  ; 
a  narrative  of  still  later  discoveries,  published  at 
Paris  in  1620  and  1627  ;  and,  finally,  a  compendium 
of  all  his  previous  publications,  mth  much  additional 
matter,  published  in  quarto  at  Paris  in  1632,  and  illus- 
trated by  a  very  curious  and  interesting  map. 


4  CHAMPLAXN  AND  HIS  ASSOCIATES. 

Next  in  value  to  the  writings  of  Chaniplain  are 
those  of  his  associate,  Lescarbot,  whose  Histoii^e  de  la 
Nouvelle  France  is  of  great  interest  and  authority  as 
far  as  it  relates  the  author's  personal  experience. 
The  editions  here  consulted  are  those  of  1612  and 
1618.  The  Muses  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  and  other 
minor  works  of  Lescarbot,  have  also  been  examined. 

The  JStablissement  de  la  Foy  of  Le  Clerc  is  of  great 
value  in  connection  with  the  present  subject,  con- 
taining documents  and  extracts  from  documents  not 
elsewhere  to  be  found.  It  is  of  extreme  rarity, 
having  been  suppressed  by  the  French  government 
soon  after  its  appearance  in  1691. 

The  Histoire  du  Canada  of  Sagard,  the  Premiere 
Mission  des  Jesuites  of  Carayon,  the  cuiious  Relation 
of  the  Jesuit  Biard,  and  those  of  the  Jesuits  Charles 
Lalemant,  Le  Jeune,  and  Brebeuf,  together  with  two 
narratives  —  one  of  them  perhaps  wi-itten  by  Cham- 
plain  —  in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  volumes  of 
the  Mercure  Franqais,  may  also  be  mentioned  as 
among  the  leading  authorities  of  the  body  of  this 
work.  Those  of  the  introductory  portion  need  not 
be  specified  at  present. 

Of  manuscripts  used,  the  principal  are  the  Bref 
Discours  of  Chaniplain,  or  the  journal  of  his  voyage 
to  the  West  Indies  and  Mexico ;  the  Grand  Insu- 
laire  et  Pilotage  d' Andre  Thevet,  an  ancient  and  very 
curious  document,  in  which  the  superetitions  of 
Breton  and  Norman  fishermen  are  recounted  by  one 
who  shared  them ;  and  a  variety  of  official  papers, 
obtained  for  me  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  B.  P. 
Poore,  from  the  archives  of  France. 


CHAMPLAIN   AND   HIS  ASSOCIATES.  5 

I  am  indebted  to  G.  B.  Faribault,  Esq.,  of  Quebec, 
and  to  the  late  Jacques  Viger,  Esq.,  of  Montreal, 
for  the  use  of  valuable  papers  and  memoranda ;  to 
the  Rev.  John  Cordner,  of  Montreal,  for  various  kind 
acts  of  co-operation ;  to  Jared  Sparks,  LL.D.,  for 
the  use  of  a  copy  of  Le  Clerc's  Etahlissement  de  la 
Foy ;  to  Dr.  E.  B.  O'Callaghan,  for  assistance  in 
examining  rare  books  in  the  Sttite  Library  of  New 
York ;  to  John  Carter  Brown,  Esq.,  and  Colonel 
Thomas  Aspinwall,  for  the  use  of  books  from  their 
admirable  collections ;  while  to  the  libraries  of  Har- 
vard College  and  of  the  Boston  Athenajum  I  owe  a 
standing  debt  of  gratitude. 

The  basis  of  descriptive  passages  was  supplied 
through  early  tastes  and  habits,  which  long  since 
made  me  familiar  with  most  of  the  localities  of  the 
narrative. 


PIOIS^EERS  OF  FRANCE  IN   THE 
NEW  WORLD. 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1488-1543. 

EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE   IN  NORTH  AMERICA. 

Traditions  of  French  Discovery. —  Normans,  Bretons,  Basques. 
—  Legends  and  Scperstitions. — Verrazzano.  —  Jacques  Car- 
tier.  —  Quebec.  —  Hociielaga.  — Winter  Miseries.  —  Rober- 
val.  —  The  Isles  of  Demons.  —  The  Colonists  of  Cap  Rouge. 

When  America  was  fii'st  made  known  to  Europe, 
the  part  assumed  by  France  on  the  borders  of  that 
new  world  was  peculiar,  and  is  little  recognized. 
While  the  Spaniard  roamed  sea  and  land,  burning 
for  achievement,  red-hot  with  bigotry  and  avarice, 
and  while  England,  with  soberer  steps  and  a  less 
dazzling  result,  followed  in  the  path  of  discovery 
and  gold-hunting,  it  was  from  France  that  those  bar- 
barous shores  first  learned  to  serve  the  ends  of  peace- 
ful commercial  industry. 

A  French  writer,  however,  advances  a  more  ambi- 
tious claim.     In  the  year  1488,  four  yeiu-s  before  the 


8  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1492. 

first  voyage  of  Columbus,  America,  lie  maintains, 
was  found  by  Frenchmen.  Cousin,  a  navigator  of 
Dieppe,  being  at  sea  off  the  African  coast,  was  forced 
westward,  it  is  said,  by  winds  and  currents  to  within 
sight  of  an  unknown  shore,  where  he  presently  de- 
scried the  mouth  of  a  great  river.  On  board  his  ship 
was  one  Pinzon,  whose  conduct  became  so  mutinous 
that,  on  his  return  to  Dieppe,  Cousin  made  complaint 
to  the  magistracy,  who  thereupon  dismissed  the  of- 
fender from  the  maritime  service  of  the  town.  Pinzon 
went  to  Spain,  became  known  to  Columbus,  told  him 
the  discovery,  and  joined  him  on  his  voyage  of  1492.^ 

1  Memoires  pour  servir  a  I'Hisloire  de  Dieppe;  Vitet,  Histoire  de 
Dieppe,  226;  Gaffarel,  Bresil  Frangais,  1.  Compte-rendu  du  Congres 
International  des  Americanistes,  I.  398-414;  Guerin,  Navigateurs  Fran- 
^ais,  47 ;  Estancelin,  Navigateurs  Normands,  332.  This  last  writer's 
research  to  verify  the  tradition  was  vain.  The  bombardment  of  1694 
nearly  destroyed  the  archives  of  Dieppe,  and  nothing  could  be  learned 
from  the  Pinzons  of  Palos.  Yet  the  story  may  not  be  quite  void  of 
foundation.  In  1500,  Cabral  was  blown  within  sight  of  Brazil  in  a 
similar  manner.  Herrera  {Hist.  General,  Dec.  I.  Lib.  I.  c.  3)  gives 
several  parallel  instances  as  having  reached  the  ears  of  Columbus  be- 
fore his  first  voyage.  Compare  the  Introduction  to  Lok's  translation 
of  Peter  Martyr,  and  Eden  and  Willes,  History  of  Travayles,  fol.  1 ; 
also  a  story  in  the  Journal  de  I'Amerique  (Troyes,  1709),  and  Gomara, 
Hist.  Gen.  des  Indes  Occidentales,  Lib.  I.  c.  13.  These  last,  however, 
are  probably  inventions. 

In  the  Description  des  Costes  de  la  Mer  Oceane,  a  manuscript  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  it  is  said  that  a  French  pilot  of  St.  Jean  de 
Luz  first  discovered  America :  "  II  f ut  le  premier  jete'  en  la  coste  de 
I'Amerique  par  une  violente  tempeste,  laissa  son  papier  journal,  com- 
muniqua  la  route  qu'il  avoit  faite  a  Coulon,  chez  qui  il  mourut."  (See 
Monteil,  Traite  de  Materiaux  ifanuscrits,  I.  340.)  The  story  is  scarcely 
worth  the  mention.  Harrisse  {Les  Cortereal,  27)  thinks  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Portuguese  reached  the  American  continent  as  early 
as  1474,  or  even  ten  years  earlier. 


14Q7.]  NEWFOUNDLAND.  9 

To  leave  this  cloudland  of  tradition,  and  approach 
the  confines  of  recorded  history.  The  Normans,  off- 
spring of  an  ancestry  of  conquerors,  —  the  Bretons, 
that  stubborn,  hardy,  unchanging  race,  who,  among 
Druid  monuments  changeless  as  themselves,  still 
cling  with  Celtic  obstinacy  to  the  thoughts  and  habits 
of  the  past,  —  the  Basques,  that  primeval  people, 
older  than  history,  —  all  frequented  from  a  very  early 
date  the  cod-banks  of  Newfoundland.  There  is  some 
reason  to  believe  that  this  fishery  existed  before  the 
voyage  of  Cabot,  in  1497 ;  ^  there  is  strong  evidence 

1  "  Terra  hcec  ob  luerosissimam  piscationis  utilitatem  summa  littera- 
rum  memoria  a  Gallis  adiri  solita,  &  ante  mille  sexcentos  annos  fre- 
quentari  solita  est."  Postel,  cited  by  Lescarbot,  I.  237,  and  by  Ilornot, 
260. 

"De  toute  mc'moire,  &  des  plusieurs  siecles  noz  Diepois,  Maloins, 
Rochelois,  &  autres  mariniers  dn  Havre  de  Grace,  de  Ilonfleur  &  autres 
licux,  font  les  voyages  ordinaires  en  ces  pa'is-la  pour  la  pecherie  des 
Morues."     Lescarbot,  I.  2.36. 

Compare  the  following  extracts :  — 

"  Les  Basques  et  les  Bretons  sont  depuis  plusieurs  siecles  les  seuls 
qui  se  soient  employe's  k  la  peche  de  balaines  et  des  molues ;  et  il  est 
fort  remarquable  que  S.  Cabot,  decouvrant  la  cote  de  Labrador,  y 
trouva  le  nom  de  Bacallos,  qui  signifie  des  Molues  en  langue  des 
Basfiues."  —  MS.  in  the  Roi/itl  Lihrarii  of  Versailles. 

'•  Quant  an  nom  de  Bacalos,  il  est  de  I'imposition  de  nos  Basques, 
lesciuels  ;i])p('llcMt  une  Morue,  Bacaillos,  &  a  Icur  imitation  nos  peuples 
do  la  Nouvelle  France  ont  appris  a  nommer  aussi  la  Morue  Bacaillos, 
quoy()u'en  leur  langage  le  nom  proprc  do  la  morue  soit  Apegc."  Les- 
carbot, I.  237. 

De  Lact  also  says,  incidentally  (p.  .^O),  that  "  Bacalaos"  is  Basque 
for  a  codfisli.  I  once  asked  a  Basque  gentleman  the  name  for  a  cod- 
fisli  in  his  language,  and  he  at  once  answered  Baccalaos.  The  word 
has  been  adopted  by  the  Spaniards. 

"  Sebastian  Cabot  himself  named  those  lands  Baccalaos,  because 
that  in  the  seas  thereabout  he  found  so  great  multitudes  of  certain 
bigge  fishes,  much  like  unto  Tunics  (which  the  inhabitants  call  Bac- 


10  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1527. 

that  it  began  as  early  as  the  year  1504 ;  ^  and  it  is 
well  established  that,  in  1517,  fifty  Castilian,  French, 
and  Portuguese  vessels  were  engaged  in  it  at  once ; 
while  in  1527,  on  the  third  of  August,  eleven  sail  of 
Norman,  one  of  Breton,  and  two  of  Portuguese  fisher- 
men were  to  be  found  in  the  Bay  of  St.  John.^ 

calaos),  that  they  sometimes  stayed  his  shippes.**  Peter  Martyr  In 
Hakhiyt,  III.  30;  Eden  and  Willes,  125. 

If,  in  the  original  Basque,  Baccalaos  is  the  word  for  a  codfish,  and 
if  Cabot  found  it  in  use  among  the  inhabitants  of  New-foundland,  it  is 
hard  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  Basques  had  been  there  before  him. 

This  name  Baccalaos  is  variously  used  by  the  old  writers.  Cabot 
gave  it  to  the  continent,  as  far  as  he  coasted  it.  The  earliest  Spanish 
writers  give  it  an  application  almost  as  comprehensive.  On  Wyt- 
fleit's  map  (1597)  it  is  confined  to  Newfoundland  and  Labrador;  on 
Ramusio's  (1556),  to  the  southern  parts  of  Newfoundland;  on  Les- 
carbot's  (1612),  to  the  island  of  Cape  Breton ;  on  De  Laet's  (1640),  to 
a  small  island  east  of  Newfoundland. 

1  Discorso  d'  tin  gran  Capitano  di  Mare  Francese,  Ramusio,  III. 
423.  Ramusio  does  not  know  the  name  of  the  "  gran  capitano,"  but 
Estancelin  proves  him  to  have  been  Jean  Parmentier,  of  Dieppe. 
From  internal  evidence,  his  memoir  was  written  in  1539,  and  he  says 
that  Newfoundland  was  visited  by  Bretons  and  Normans  thirty-five 
years  before.  "  Britones  et  Normani  anno  a  Christo  uato  M,CCCCC,- 
im  has  terras  invenere."  W}i;fleit,  Descriptionis  Ptoleinaicce  Aug- 
mentum,  185.  The  translation  of  Wytfleit  (Douay,  1611)  bears  also 
the  name  of  Antoine  Magin.  It  is  cited  by  Champlain  as  "  Niflet  & 
Antoine  Magin."  See  also  Ogilby,  America,  128;  Forster,  Voyages, 
431 ;  Baumgartens,  I.  516;  Biard,  Relation,  2;  Bergeron,  Traite  de  la 
Navigation,  c.  14. 

2  Herrera,  Dec.  11.  Lib.  V.  c.  3 ;  Letter  of  John  Rut,  dated  St. 
John's,  3  August,  1527,  in  Purchas,  III.  809, 

The  name  of  Cape  Breton,  found  on  the  oldest  maps,  is  a  memorial 
of  these  early  French  voyages.  Cartier,  in  1534,  found  the  capes  and 
bays  of  Ne^vfoundland  already  named  by  his  countrymen  who  had 
preceded  him.  In  1565,  Charles  IX.  of  France  informed  the  Spanish 
ambassador  that  the  coast  of  North  America  had  been  discovered  by 
French  subjects  more  than  a  hundred  years  before,  and  is  therefore 


1500-1550.]  THE   ISLES   OF   DEMONS.  11 

From  this  time  forth,  the  NeAvfoiindhmd  fishery 
was  never  abandoned.  French,  Englisli,  Spanish, 
and  Portuguese  made  resort  to  the  Banks,  always 
jealous,  often  quarrelling,  but  still  drawing  up  treas- 
ure from  those  exhaustless  mines,  and  l)earing  home 
bountiful  provision  against  the  season  of  Lent. 

On  this  dim  verge  of  the  known  world  there  were 
other  perils  than  those  of  the  waves.  The  rocks  and 
shores  of  those  sequestered  seas  had,  so  thought  the 
voyagers,  other  tenants  than  the  seal,  the  walrus,  and 
the  screaming  sea-fowl,  the  bears  which  stole  away 
their  fish  before  their  eyes,^  and  the  wild  natives 
dressed  in  seal-skins.  Griffins  —  so  ran  the  story  — 
infested  the  mountains  of  Labrador. ^  Two  islands, 
north  of  Newfoundland,  were  given  over  to  the  fiends 
from  whom  they  derived  their  name,  the  Isles  of 
Demons.  An  old  map  pictures  their  occupants  at 
length,  —  devils  rampant,  with  wings,  horns,  and 
tail.^  The  passing  voyager  heard  the  din  of  their 
infernal  orgies,  and  woe  to  the  sailor  or  the  fisher- 
man who  ventured  alone  into  the  haunted  woods.* 

called  "  Terre  aux  Bretons."  Papiers  d'Estat  de  Forquevaulx,  in 
Gaffarel,  Floride,  41.3. 

Navarrete's  position,  that  the  fisheries  date  no  farther  back  than 
1540,  is  wholly  untenable. 

^  "  The  Beares  als(j  be  as  bold,  which  will  not  spare  at  midday  to 
take  your  fish  before  your  face."  —  Letter  of  Anthonie  Parkhurst,  1578, 
in  Ilakluyt,  III.  170. 

2  Wytfleit,  190;  Gonaara,  Lib.  I.  c.  2. 

*  See  Ramusio,  III.  Compare  La  Popelini^re,  Les  Trois  Mondes, 
II.  25. 

*  Le  Grand  Insulaire  et  Pilotage  d' Andre  Thevet,  Cosmographe  du 
Roy  (1 586).     I  am  indebted  to  G.  B.  Faribault,  Esq.,  of  Quebec,  for  a 


12  EARLY  FRENCH   ADVENTURE,     [1506-1518. 

"True  it  is,"  writes  the  old  cosmographer  Thevet, 
"  and  I  myself  have  heard  it,  not  from  one,  but  from 
a  great  number  of  the  sailors  and  pilots  with  whom  I 
have  made  many  voyages,  that,  when  they  passed 
this  way,  they  heard  in  the  air,  on  the  tops  and  about 
the  masts,  a  great  clamor  of  men's  voices,  confused 
and  inarticulate,  such  as  you  may  hear  from  the 
crowd  at  a  fair  or  market-place ;  whereupon  they  well 
knew  that  the  Isle  of  Demons  was  not  far  off. "  And 
he  adds,  that  he  himself,  when  among  the  Indians, 
had  seen  them  so  tormented  by  these  infernal  perse- 
cutors, that  they  would  fall  into  liis  arms  for  relief; 
on  which,  repeating  a  passage  of  the  Gospel  of  St. 
John,  he  had  driven  the  imps  of  darkness  to  a  speedy 
exodus.  They  are  comely  to  look  upon,  he  further 
tells  us ;  yet,  by  reason  of  their  malice,  that  island  is 
of  late  abandoned,  and  all  who  dwelt  there  have  fled 
for  refuge  to  the  main.^ 

While  French  fishermen  plied  their  trade  along 
these  gloomy  coasts,   the  French  government  spent 

copy  of  this  curious  manuscript.  The  islands  are  perhaps  those  of 
Belle  Isle  and  Quirpon.  More  probably,  however,  that  most  held  in 
dread,  "  pour  autaut  que  les  Demons  y  font  terrible  tintamarre,"  is  a 
small  island  near  the  northeast  extremity  of  Newfoundland,  variously 
called,  by  Thevet,  Isle  de  Fiche,  Isle  de  Roberval,  and  Isle  des 
Demons.  It  is  the  same  with  the  Isle  Fichet  of  Sanson,  and  the 
Fishot  Island  of  some  modern  maps.  A  curious  legend  connected  with 
it  will  be  given  hereafter. 

1  Thevet,  Cosmographie  (1575),  II.  c.  5.  A  very  rare  book.  I  am 
indebted  to  Dr.  E.  B.  O'Callaghan  for  copies  of  the  passages  in  it 
relating  to  subjects  within  the  scope  of  the  present  work.  Thevet 
here  contradicts  himself  in  regard  to  the  position  of  the  haunted 
island,  wliich  he  places  at  60°  north  latitude. 


1515.]  VERRAZZANO.  13 

its  energies  on  a  different  field.  The  vitality  of  the 
kingdom  was  wasted  in  Italian  wars.  Milan  and 
Naples  offered  a  more  tempting  prize  than  the  wilds 
of  Baccalaos.i  Eager  for  glory  and  for  plunder,  a 
swarm  of  restless  nobles  followed  their  knight-errant 
King,  the  would-be  paladin,  who,  misshapen  in  body 
and  fantastic  in  mind,  had  yet  the  power  to  raise  a 
storm  which  the  lapse  of  generations  could  not  quell. 
Under  Charles  the  Eighth  and  his  successor,  war  and 
intrigue  ruled  the  day;  and  in  the  whirl  of  Italian 
politics  there  was  no  leisure  to  think  of  a  new  world. 

Yet  private  enterprise  was  not  quite  benumbed.  In 
1506,  one  Denis  of  Honfleur  explored  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence ;  ^  two  years  later,  Aubert  of  Dieppe  fol- 
lowed on  his  track; 3  and  in  1518,  the  Baron  de  L^ry 
made  an  abortive  attempt  at  settlement  on  Sable 
Island,  where  the  cattle  left  by  him  remained  and 
nuiltiplied.^ 

The  crown  passed  at  length  to  Francis  of  An- 
gouleme.  There  were  in  his  nature  seeds  of  noble- 
ness, —  seeds  destined  to  bear  little  fruit.  Chivalry 
and  honor  were  always  on  his  lips ;  but  Francis  the 
Firet,  a  foreworn  gentleman,  a  despotic  king,  vain- 
glorious, selfish,  sunk  in  debaucheries,  was  but  the 
type  of  an  era  which  retained  the  forms  of  the  Middle 
Age  without  its  soul,  and  added  to  a  still  prevailing 
barbarism  the  pestilential  vices  which  hung  fog-like 

1  See  ante,  p.  9,  noto  1. 

^  Parinentier  iu  Kamusio,  III.  423;  Estaucelin,  42-222. 

8  Ibid. 

*  Lescarbot,  I.  22;  De  Laet,  Nocus  Orhis,  39;  Bergeron,  c.  15. 


14  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1523. 

around  the  dawn  of  civilization.  Yet  he  esteemed 
arts  and  letters,  and,  still  more,  coveted  the  eclat 
which  they  could  give.  The  light  wliich  was  begin- 
ning to  pierce  the  feudal  darkness  gathered  its  rays 
around  his  throne.  Italy  was  rewarding  the  robbers 
who  preyed  on  her  with  the  treasures  of  her  knowl- 
edge and  her  culture;  and  Italian  genius,  of  what- 
ever stamp,  found  ready  patronage  at  the  hands  of 
Francis.  Among  artists,  philosophers,  and  men  of 
letters  enrolled  in  his  service  stands  the  humbler 
name  of  a  Florentine  navigator,  John  Verrazzano. 

He  was  born  of  an  ancient  family,  which  could 
boast  names  eminent  in  Florentine  histoiy,  and  of 
which  the  last  survivor  died  in  1819.  He  has  been 
called  a  pirate,  and  he  was  such  in  the  same  sense  in 
which  Drake,  Hawkins,  and  other  valiant  sea-rovers 
of  his  own  and  later  times,  merited  the  name ;  that  is 
to  say,  he  would  plunder  and  kill  a  Spaniard  on  the 
high  seas  without  waiting  for  a  declaration  of  war. 

The  wealth  of  the  Indies  was  pouring  into  the 
coffers  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  the  exploits  of 
Cortes  had  given  new  lustre  to  his  crown.  Francis 
the  First  begrudged  his  hated  rival  the  glories  and 
profits  of  the  New  "World.  He  would  fain  have  his 
share  of  the  prize ;  and  Verrazzano,  with  four  ships, 
was  despatched  to  seek  out  a  passage  westward  to  the 
rich  kingdom  of  Cathay. 

Some  doubt  has  of  late  been  cast  on  the  reality  of 
this  voyage  of  Verrazzano,  and  e%ddence,  mainly 
negative  in  kind,  has  been  adduced  to  prove  the  story 


1524.]  VERRAZZANO.  15 

of  it  a  fabrication;  but  the  difficulties  of  incredulity 
appear  greater  than  those  of  belief,  and  no  ordinary 
degree  of  scepticism  is  required  to  reject  the  evidence 
that  the  narrative  is  essentially  true.^ 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1523,  his  four  ships 
sailed  from  Dieppe;  but  a  storm  fell  upon  him, 
and,  with  two  of  the  vessels,  he  ran  back  in  distress 
to  a  port  of  Brittany.  What  became  of  the  other 
two  does  not  appear.  Neither  is  it  clear  why,  after 
a  preliminary  cruise  against  the  Spaniards,  he  pursued 
his  voyage  with  one  vessel  alone,  a  caravel  called  the 
"Dauphine.'*  With  her  he  made  for  Madeira,  and, 
on  the  seventeenth  of  January,  1524,  set  sail  from  a 
barren  islet  in  its  neighborhood,  and  bore  away  for 
the  unknown  world.  In  forty-nine  days  they  neared 
a  low  shore,  not  far  from  the  site  of  Wilmington  in 
North  Carolina,  "a  newe  land,"  exclaims  the  voyager, 
"never  before  seen  of  any  man,  either  auncient  or 
modeme."^  Verrazzano  steered  southward  in  search 
of  a  harbor,  and,  finding  none,  turned  northward 
again.  Presently  he  sent  a  boat  ashore.  The  inhab- 
itants, who  had  fled  at  first,  soon  came  do^vn  to  the 
strand  in  wonder  and  admiration,  pointing  out  a 
hmding-place,  and  making  gestures  of  friendship. 
"These  people,"  says  Verrazzano,  "goe  altogether 
naked,  except  only  certain  skinnes  of  beastes  like 
unto  martems  [martens],  which  they  fasten  onto  a 
narrowe  girdle  made  of  grasse.     They  are  of  colour 

*  See  note,  end  of  chapter. 

2  Hakluyt's  translation  from  Raniusio,  in  Divers  Voyages  (1582). 


16  EARLY   FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1524. 

russet,  and  not  much  unlike  the  Saracens,  their  hayre 
blacke,  thicke,  and  not  very  long,  which  they  tye 
togeather  in  a  knot  beliinde,  and  weare  it  like  a 
taile."! 

He  describes  the  shore  as  consisting  of  small  low 
hillocks  of  fine  sand,  intersected  by  creeks  and  inlets, 
and  beyond  these  a  country  "full  of  Palme  [pine?] 
trees.  Bay  trees,  and  high  Cypresse  trees,  and  many 
other  sortes  of  trees,  vnknowne  in  Europe,  which 
yeeld  most  sweete  sauours,  farre  from  the  shore." 
Still  advancing  northward,  Verrazzano  sent  a  boat 
for  a  supply  of  water.  The  surf  ran  high,  and  the 
crew  could  not  land;  but  an  adventurous  young 
sailor  jumped  overboard  and  swam  shoreward  with  a 
gift  of  beads  and  trinkets  for  the  Indians,  who  stood 
watching  him.  His  heart  failed  as  he  drew  near;  he 
flung  his  gift  among  them,  turned,  and  struck  out 
for  the  boat.  The  surf  dashed  him  back,  flinging 
him  with  violence  on  the  beach  among  the  recipients 
of  his  bounty,  who  seized  him  by  the  arms  and  legs, 
and,  while  he  called  lustily  for  aid,  answered  him 
with  outcries  designed  to  allay  his  terrors.  Next 
they  kindled  a  great  fire,  —  doubtless  to  roast  and 
devour  him  before  the  eyes  of  his  comrades,  gazing 
in  horror  from  their  boat.  On  the  contrary,  they 
carefully  warmed  him,  and  were  tr}dng  to  dry  his 
clothes,  when,  recovering  from  liis  bemlderment,  he 
betrayed  a  strong  desire  to  escape  to  his  friends; 
whereupon,    "with    great   love,    clapping   him    fast 

1  Hakluyt's  translation  from  Ramusio,  in  Divers  Voyages  (1582). 


1524.]  \^RRAZZANO.  17 

about,  with  many  embracings,"  tliey  led  him  to  the 
shore,  and  stood  watching  till  he  had  reached  the 
boat. 

It  only  remained  to  requite  this  kindness,  and  an 
opportunity  soon  occurred;  for,  coasting  the  shores 
of  Virginia  or  INIaryland,  a  party  went  on  shore  and 
found  an  old  woman,  a  young  girl,  and  several  chil- 
dren, hiding  with  great  terror  in  the  grass.  Having, 
by  various  blandishments,  gained  their  confidence, 
they  carried  off  one  of  the  children  as  a  curiosity, 
and,  since  the  girl  was  comely,  would  fain  have  taken 
her  also,  but  desisted  by  reason  of  her  continual 
screaming. 

Verrazzano's  next  resting-place  was  the  Bay  of 
New  York.  Rowing  up  in  his  boat  through  the 
Narrows,  under  the  steep  heights  of  Staten  Island,  he 
saw  the  harbor  witliin  dotted  with  canoes  of  the 
feathered  natives,  coming  from  the  shore  to  welcome 
him.  But  what  most  engaged  the  eyes  of  the  white 
men  were  the  fancied  signs  of  mineral  wealth  in  the 
neighboring  hills. 

Following  the  shores  of  Long  Island,  they  came  to 
an  island,  which  may  have  been  Block  Island,  and 
thence  to  a  harbor,  whicli  was  probably  that  of  New- 
port. Here  they  stayed  fifteen  days,  most  courteously 
received  by  the  inhabitants.  Among  others  appeared 
two  chiefs,  gorgeously  arrayed  in  painted  deer-skins, 
—  kings,  as  Verrazzano  calls  them,  ^^dth  attendant 
gentlemen ;  while  a  party  of  squaws  in  a  canoe,  kept 
by  tlieir  jealous  lords  at  a  safe  distance   from  the 

VOL.    II. — 2 


18  EARLY  FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1524. 

caravel,  figure  in  the  narrative  as  the  queen  and  her 
maids.  The  Indian  wardrobe  had  been  taxed  to  its 
utmost  to  do  the  strangers  honor,  —  copper  bracelets, 
lynx-skins,  raccoon-skins,  and  faces  bedaubed  with 
gaudy  colors. 

Again  they  spread  their  sails,  and  on  the  fifth  of 
May  bade  farewell  to  the  primitive  hospitalities  of 
Newport,  steered  along  the  rugged  coasts  of  New 
England,  and  surveyed,  ill  pleased,  the  surf-beaten 
rocks,  the  pine-tree  and  the  fir,  the  shadows  and  the 
gloom  of  mighty  forests.  Here  man  and  nature  alike 
were  savage  and  repellent.  Perhaps  some  plunder- 
ing straggler  from  the  fisliing-banks,  some  man- 
stealer  like  the  Portuguese  Cortereal,  or  some 
kidnapper  of  cliildren  and  ravisher  of  squaws  like 
themselves,  had  warned  the  denizens  of  the  woods  to 
beware  of  the  worshippers  of  Christ.  Their  only 
intercourse  was  in  the  way  of  trade.  From  the  brink 
of  the  rocks  which  overhung  the  sea  the  Indians 
would  let  down  a  cord  to  the  boat  below,  demand 
fish-hooks,  knives,  and  steel,  in  barter  for  their  furs, 
And,  their  bargain  made,  salute  the  voyagere  with 
unseemly  gestures  of  derision  and  scorn.  The  French 
once  ventured  ashore ;  but  a  war-whoop  and  a  shower 
of  arrows  sent  them  back  to  their  boats. 

Verrazzano  coasted  the  seaboard  of  Maine,  and 
sailed  northward  as  far  as  Newfoundland,  whence, 
provisions  failing,  he  steered  for  France.  He  had 
not  found  a  passage  to  Cathay,  but  he  had  explored 
the  American  coast  from  the  thirty-fourth  degree  to 


1524.]  VERRAZZANO.  l9 

the  fiftieth,  and  at  various  points  had  penetrated 
several  leagues  into  the  country.  On  the  eighth  of 
July,  he  wrote  from  Dieppe  to  the  King  the  earliest 
description  known  to  exist  of  the  shores  of  the  United 
States. 

Great  was  the  joy  that  hailed  his  arrival,  and  great 
were  the  hopes  of  emolument  and  wealth  from  the 
new-found  shores.  ^  The  merchants  of  Lyons  were 
in  a  flush  of  expectation.  For  himself,  he  was  earnest 
to  return,  plant  a  colony,  and  bring  the  heathen 
tribes  within  the  pale  of  the  Church.  But  the  time 
was  inauspicious.  The  year  of  his  voyage  was  to 
France  a  year  of  disasters,  —  defeat  in  Italy,  the  loss 
of  Milan,  the  death  of  the  heroic  Bayard ;  and,  while 
Verrazzano  was  writing  his  narrative  at  Dieppe,  the 
traitor  Bourbon  was  invading  Provence.  Prepara- 
tion, too,  was  soon  on  foot  for  the  expedition  which, 
a  few  months  later,  ended  in  the  captivity  of  Francis 
on  the  field  of  Pavia.  Without  a  king,  without  an 
army,  without  money,  convulsed  within,  and  threat- 
ened from  without,  France  after  that  humiliation  was 
in  no  condition  to  renew  her  Transatlantic  enterprise. 

Henceforth  few  traces  remain  of  the  fortunes  of 
Verrazzano.  Ramusio  affirms,  that,  on  another  voy- 
age, he  was  killed  and  eaten  by  savages,  in  sight  of 
his  followers ;  ^  and  a  late  writer  hazards  the  conjec- 
ture that  this  voyage,  if  made  at  all,  was  made  in  the 

1  Fernando  Carli  a  suo  Padre,  4  Aug.,  1524. 

2  Ramu8io,  III.  417;  Wytfleit,  185.  Compare  Le  Clerc,  JStablisse- 
ment  de  la  Fvy,  I.  6. 


20  EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1527. 

service  of  Henry  the  Eighth  of  Enghmd.^  But  a 
Spanish  writer  affirms  that,  in  1527,  he  was  hanged 
at  Puerto  del  Pico  as  a  pirate,'^  and  this  assertion  is 
fully  confirmed  by  authentic  documents  recently 
brought  to  light. 

The  fickle-minded  King,  always  ardent  at  the  out- 
set of  an  enterprise  and  always  flagging  before  its 
close,  divided,  moreover,  between  the  smiles  of  his 
mistresses  and  the  assaults  of  his  enemies,  might 
probably  have  dismissed  the  New  World  from  his 
thoughts.  But  among  the  favorites  of  his  youth  was 
a  high-spirited  young  noble,  Philippe  de  Brion- 
Chabot,  the  partner  of  his  joustings  and  tennis-play- 
ing, his  gaming  and  gallantries.^  He  still  stood  high 
in  the  royal  favor,  and,  after  the  treacherous  escape 
of  Francis  from  captivity,  held  the  office  of  Admiral 
of  France.  When  the  kingdom  had  rallied  in  some 
measure  from  its  calamities,  he  conceived  the  purpose 
of  following  up  the  path  which  Verrazzano  had 
opened. 

The  ancient  town  of  St.  Malo  —  thrust  out  like  a 
buttress  into  the  sea,  strange  and  grim  of  aspect, 
breathing  war  from  its  walls  and  battlements  of  ragged 
stone,  a  stronghold  of  privateers,  the  home  of  a  race 
whose  intractable  and  defiant  independence  neither 
time  nor  change  has  subdued  —  has  been  for  centuries 
a  nursery  of  hardy  mariners.     Among  the  earliest 

1  Biddle,  Memoir  of  Cabot,  275. 
^  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  8. 
8  Brantome,  II.  277;  Biographic   Universelle,  Art.  Chabot. 


1534.]  JACQUES   CARTIER.  21 

and  most  eminent  on  its  list  stands  the  name  of 
Jacques  Cartier.  His  portrait  hangs  in  the  town-hall 
of  St.  Malo,  —  bold,  keen  features  bespeaking  a  spirit 
not  apt  to  quail  before  the  wrath  of  man  or  of  the 
elements.  In  him  Chabot  found  a  fit  agent  of  his 
design,  if,  indeed,  its  suggestion  is  not  due  to  the 
Breton  navigator.  ^ 

Sailing  from  St.  Malo  on  the  twentieth  of  April, 
1534,  Cartier  steered  for  Newfoundland,  passed 
through  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  entered  the  Gulf  of 
Chaleurs,  planted  a  cross  at  Gaspd,  and,  never  doubt- 
ing that  he  was  on  the  high  road  to  Cathay,  advanced 
up  the  St.  LaAvrence  till  he  saw  the  shores  of  Anti- 
costi.  But  autumnal  storms  were  gathering.  The 
voyagers  took  counsel  together,  turned  their  prows 
eastward,  and  bore  away  for  France,  carrying  thither, 
as  a  sample  of  the  natural  products  of  the  New 
World,  two  young  Indians,  lured  into  their  clutches 
by  an  act  of  villanous  treachery.  The  voyage  was  a 
mere  reconnoissance.^ 

The  spirit  of  discovery  was  awakened.  A  passage 
to  India  could  be  found,  and  a  new  France  built  up 
l)oyond  the  Atlantic.  Mingled  with  such  views  of 
interest  and  ambition  was  another  motive  scarcely  less 

1  Cartier  was  at  this  time  forty  years  of  age,  having  been  born  in 
December,  1494.  I  examined  the  St.  Malo  portrait  in  1881.  It  is  a 
recent  work  (1839),  and  its  likenes.'*  is  more  than  doubtful. 

'^  Lescarbot,  I.  2.'i2  (Kil'i)  ;  Rehition  ori(/inale  du  Voyage  de  Jacques 
Cartier  en  l.'j.34  (Paris,  1867)  ;  Cartier,  /)isrours  du  Voijarjc,  re])rinted 
by  the  Literary  and  Historical  Society  of  Quebec.  Compare  trans- 
lation.s  in  Haklnyt  and  Kaniusio;  MS.  Map  of  Cartier's  route  in  Depdt 
des  Cartes,  Carton  V. 


22  EARLY  FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1535. 

potent.^  Tlio  heresy  of  Luther  was  convulsing  Ger- 
many, and  tlie  deeper  heresy  of  Calvin  infecting 
France.  Devout  Catholics,  kindling  with  redoubled 
zeal,  would  fain  requite  the  Church  for  her  losses  in 
the  Old  World  by  winning  to  her  fold  the  infidels  of 
the  New.  Rut,  in  pursuing  an  end  at  once  so  pious 
and  so  politic,  Francis  the  First  was  setting  at  naught 
the  supreme  Pontiff  himself,  since,  by  the  prepos- 
terous bull  of  Alexander  the  Sixth,  all  America  had 
been  given  to  the  Spaniards. 

In  October,  1534,  Cartier  received  from  Chabot 
another  commission,  and,  in  spite  of  secret  but  bit- 
ter opposition  from  jealous  traders  of  St.  Malo,  he 
prepared  for  a  second  voyage.  Three  vessels,  the 
largest  not  above  a  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  were 
placed  at  his  disposal,  and  Claude  de  Pontbriand, 
Charles  de  la  Pommeraye,  and  other  gentlemen  of 
birth,  enrolled  themselves  for  the  adventure.  On 
the  sixteenth  of  May,  1535,  officers  and  sailors 
assembled  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Malo,  where,  after 
confession  and  mass,  they  received  the  parting  bless- 
ing of  the  bishop.  Three  days  later  they  set  sail. 
The  dingy  walls  of  the  rude  old  seaport,  and  the 
white  rocks  that  line  the  neighboring  shores  of  Brit- 
tany, faded  from  their  sight,  and  soon  they  were 
tossing  in  a  furious  tempest.  The  scattered  ships 
escaped  the  danger,  and,  reuniting  at  the  Straits  of 
Belle  Isle,  steered  westward  along  the  coast  of  Labra- 
dor, till  they  reached  a  small  bay  opposite  the  island 

1  Lettre  de  Cartier  an  Roy  tres  Chretien. 


1535.]  SECOND  VOYAGE  OF  CARTIER.  23 

of  Anticosti.  Cartier  called  it  the  Bay  of  St.  Law- 
rence, —  a  name  afterwards  extended  to  the  entire 
gulf,  and  to  the  great  river  above.  ^ 

To  ascend  this  great  river,  and  tempt  the  hazards 
of  its  intricate  navigation  with  no  better  pilots  than 

*  Cartier  calls  the  St.  Lawrence  the  "  River  of  Hochelaga,"  or 
"  the  great  river  of  Canada."  He  confines  the  name  of  Canada  to  a 
district  extending  from  the  Isle  aux  Coudres  in  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
a  point  at  some  distance  above  the  site  of  Quebec.  The  country  be- 
low, he  adds,  was  called  by  the  Indians  Sa(juenay,  and  that  above, 
Hochelaga.  In  the  map  of  Gerard  Mercator  (1569)  the  name  Canada 
is  given  to  a  town,  with  an  adjacent  district,  on  the  river  Stadin  (St. 
Charles).  Lescarbot,  a  later  writer,  insists  that  the  country  on  both 
sides  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  Hochelaga  to  its  mouth,  bore  the 
name  of  Canada. 

In  the  second  map  of  Ortelius,  published  about  the  year  1572,  New 
France,  Nova  Francia,  is  thus  divided :  Canada,  a  district  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  above  the  river  Saguenay ;  C'AfVaf/a  (Hochelaga),  the  angle 
between  the  Ottawa  and  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  Saguenai,  a  district  below 
the  river  of  that  name ;  Afoscosa,  .south  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  east 
of  the  river  Richelieu ;  Avacal,  west  and  south  of  Moscosa;  Norum- 
bega,  Maine  and  New  Brunswick ;  Apalache.n,  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
etc. ;  Terra  Corterealis,  Labrador ;  Florida,  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Florida. 

Mercator  confines  the  name  of  New  France  to  districts  bordering 
on  the  St.  Lawrence.  Others  give  it  a  much  broader  application. 
The  use  of  this  name,  or  the  nearly  allied  names  of  Francisca  and 
La  Franciscane,  dates  back,  to  say  the  least,  as  far  as  1525,  and  the 
Dutch  geographers  are  especially  free  in  their  use  of  it,  out  of  spite  to 
the  Spaniards. 

The  derivation  of  the  name  of  Canada  has  been  a  point  of  discus- 
sion. It  is,  without  doubt,  not  Spanisli,  but  Indian.  In  the  vocabulary 
of  the  language  of  Hochelaga,  appended  to  the  journal  of  Cartier's 
second  voyage,  Canada  is  set  down  as  the  word  for  a  town  or  village. 
"  lis  appellent  une  ville,  Canada."  It  bears  the  same  meaning  in  the 
Mohawk  tongue.  Both  languages  are  dialects  of  the  Iroquois.  Les- 
carbot affirms  that  Canada  is  simply  an  Indian  proper  name,  of  which 
it  is  vain  to  seek  a  meaning.  Belleforest  also  calls  it  an  Indian  word, 
but  translates  it  "  Terre,"  as  does  also  Thevet. 


24  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1535. 

the  two  young  Indians  kidnapped  the  year  before, 
was  a  venture  of  no  light  risk.  But  skill  or  fortune 
prevailed;  and,  on  the  first  of  September,  the  voya- 
gers reached  in  safety  the  gorge  of  the  gloomy 
Saguenay,  with  its  towering  cliffs  and  sullen  depth 
of  waters.  Passing  the  Isle  aux  Coudres,  and  the 
lofty  promontory  of  Cape  Tourmente,  they  came  to 
anchor  in  a  quiet  channel  between  the  northern  shore 
and  the  margin  of  a  richly  wooded  island,  where  the 
trees  were  so  thickly  hung  with  grapes  that  Cartier 
named  it  the  Island  of  Bacchus.^ 

Indians  came  swarming  from  the  shores,  paddled 
their  canoes  about  the  ships,  and  clambered  to  the 
decks  to  gaze  in  bewilderment  at  the  novel  scene, 
and  listen  to  the  story  of  their  travelled  countrymen, 
marvellous  in  their  ears  as  a  visit  to  another  planet.^ 

1  Now  the  Island  of  Orleans. 

2  Doubt  has  been  thrown  on  this  part  of  Cartier's  narrative,  on  the 
ground  that  these  two  young  Indians,  who  were  captured  at  Gaspe, 
could  not  have  been  so  intimately  acquainted  as  the  journal  represents 
with  the  savages  at  the  site  of  Quebec.  From  a  subsequent  part  of 
the  journal,  however,  it  appears  that  they  were  natives  of  this  place,  — 
"  et  la  est  la  ville  et  demeurance  du  Seigneur  Donnacona,  et  de  nos 
deux  hommes  qu'avions  pris  le  premier  voyage."  This  is  curiousl}-- 
confirmed  by  Thevet,  who  personally  knew  Cartier,  and  who,  in  his 
Singularites  de  la  France  Antarctiqiie  (p.  147),  says  that  the  party  to 
which  the  two  Indians  captured  at  Gaspe  belonged  spoke  a  language 
different  from  that  of  the  other  Indians  seen  in  those  parts,  and  that 
they  had  come  on  a  war  expedition  from  the  river  Chelogua  (Hoche- 
laga).  Compare  New  Found  Wurlde  (London,  1568),  124.  This  will 
also  account  for  Lescarbot's  remark,  that  the  Indians  of  Gaspe  had 
changed  their  language  since  Cartier's  time.  The  language  of  Stada- 
cone,  or  Quebec,  when  Cartier  visited  it,  was  apparently  a  dialect  of 
the  Iroquois. 


1535.]  C ARTIER  AT  QUEBEC.  25 

Cartier  received  them  kindly,  listened  to  the  long 
harangue  of  the  great  chief  Donnacona,  regaled  him 
with  bread  and  wine;  and,  when  relieved  at  length 
of  his  guests,  set  forth  in  a  boat  to  explore  the  river 
above. 

As  he  drew  near  the  opening  of  the  channel,  the 
Hochelaga  again  spread  before  him  the  broad  expanse 
of  its  waters.  A  mighty  promontory,  rugged  and 
bare,  thrust  its  scarped  front  into  the  surging  current. 
Here,  clothed  in  the  majesty  of  solitude,  breathing 
the  stern  poetry  of  the  wilderness,  rose  the  cliffs  now 
rich  with  heroic  memories,  where  the  fiery  Count 
Frontenac  cast  defiance  at  his  foes,  where  Wolfe, 
Montcalm,  and  Montgomery  fell.  As  yet,  all  was  a 
nameless  barbarism,  and  a  cluster  of  wigwams  held 
the  site  of  the  rock-built  city  of  Quebec.^  Its  name 
was  Stadacone,  and  it  owned  the  sway  of  the  royal 
Donnacona. 

Cartier  set  out  to  visit  this  greasy  potentate ; 
ascended  the  river  St.  Charles,  by  him  called  the  St. 
Croix,2  landed,  crossed  the  meadows,  climbed  the 
rocks,    threaded   the    forest,    and   emerged    upon   a 

1  On  ground  now  covered  by  the  suburbs  of  St.  Roque  and  St.  John. 

2  Charlevoix  denies  that  the  St.  Croix  and  the  St.  Charles  are  the 
same ;  but  he  supports  his  denial  by  an  argument  which  proves 
nothing  but  his  own  gross  carelessness.  Champlain,  than  whom  no 
one  was  better  qualified  to  form  an  opinion,  distinctly  affirms  the 
identity  of  the  two  rivers.  See  his  Map  of  (Quebec,  and  tlie  accom- 
panying key,  in  the  edition  of  1613.  La  Potlierie  is  of  the  same  opin- 
ion;  as  also,  among  modern  writers,  Faribault  and  Fisher.  In  truth, 
the  description  of  localities  in  Cartier's  journal  cannot,  when  closely 
examined,  admit  a  doubt  on  the  subject.  See  also  Berthelot,  Disstrtor 
tion  sur  le  Canon  de  Bronze. 


26  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1535. 

squalid  hamlet  of  bark  cabins.  When,  having  satis- 
fied their  curiosity,  he  and  his  party  were  rowing  for 
the  ships,  a  friendly  interruption  met  them  at  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Charles.  An  old  chief  harangued 
them  from  the  bank,  men,  boys,  and  children  screeched 
welcome  from  the  meadow,  and  a  troop  of  hilarious 
squaws  danced  knee-deep  in  the  water.  The  gift  of 
a  few  strings  of  beads  completed  their  delight  and 
redoubled  their  agility;  and,  from  the  distance  of  a 
mile,  their  shrill  songs  of  jubilation  still  reached  the 
ears  of  the  receding  Frenchmen. 

The  hamlet  of  Stadacon^,  with  its  king,  Donnacona, 
and  its  naked  lords  and  princes,  was  not  the  me- 
tropolis of  this  forest  state,  since  a  town  far  greater 
—  so  the  Indians  averred  —  stood  by  the  brink  of  the 
river,  many  days'  journey  above.  It  was  called 
Hochelaga,  and  the  great  river  itself,  with  a  wide 
reach  of  adjacent  country,  had  borrowed  its  name. 
Thither,  with  his  two  young  Indians  as  guides, 
Cartier  resolved  to  go;  but  misgivings  seized  the 
guides  as  the  time  drew  near,  while  Donnacona  and 
his  tribesmen,  jealous  of  the  plan,  set  themselves  to 
thwart  it.  The  Breton  captain  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
their  dissuasions;  on  which,  failing  to  touch  his 
reason,  they  appealed  to  his  fears. 

One  morning,  as  the  ships  still  lay  at  anchor,  the 
French  beheld  three  Indian  devils  descending  in  a 
canoe  towards  them,  dressed  in  black  and  white  dog- 
skins, with  faces  black  as  ink,  and  horns  long  as  a 
man's  arm.     Thus  arrayed,    they  drifted  by,   wliile 


1535.]  CARTIER  AT   QUEBEC.  27 

the  principal  fiend,  with  fixed  eyes,  as  of  one  piercing 
the  secrets  of  futurity,  uttered  in  a  loud  voice  a  long 
harangue.  Then  they  paddled  for  the  shore;  and  no 
sooner  did  they  reach  it  than  each  fell  flat  like  a  dead 
man  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe.  Aid,  however,  was 
at  hand;  for  Donnacona  and  his  tribesmen,  rusliing 
pell-mell  from  the  adjacent  woods,  raised  the  swoon- 
ing masqueraders,  and,  with  shrill  clamors,  bore 
them  in  their  arms  within  the  sheltering  thickets. 
Here,  for  a  full  half-hour,  the  French  could  hear 
them  haranguing  in  solemn  conclave.  Then  the  two 
young  Indians  whom  Cartier  had  brought  back  from 
France  came  out  of  the  bushes,  enacting  a  pantomime 
of  amazement  and  terror,  clasping  their  hands,  and 
calling  on  Christ  and  the  Virgin ;  whereupon  Cartier, 
shouting  from  the  vessel,  asked  what  was  the  matter. 
They  replied,  that  the  god  Coudouagny  had  sent  to 
warn  the  French  against  all  attempts  to  ascend  the 
great  river,  since,  should  they  persist,  snows, 
tempests,  and  drifting  ice  would  requite  their  rash- 
ness with  inevitable  ruin.  The  French  replied  that 
Coudouagny  was  a  fool;  that  he  could  not  hurt  those 
who  believed  in  Christ;  and  that  they  might  tell  this 
to  his  three  messengers.  The  assembled  Indians, 
with  little  reverence  for  their  deity,  pretended  great 
contentment  at  this  assurance,  and  danced  for  joy 
along  the  beach.  ^ 

*  M.  Berthelot,  in  his  Dissertation  sur  le  Canon  de  Bronze,  discovers 
in  this  Indian  pantomime  a  typical  representation  of  the  supposed 
shipwreck  of  Verrazzano  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  This  shipwreck,  it  ia 
needless  to  say,  is  a  mere  imagination  of  this  ingenious  writer. 


28  EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1535. 

Cartier  now  made  ready  to  depart.  And,  first,  he 
caused  the  two  larger  vessels  to  be  towed  for  safe 
harborage  within  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Charles. 
With  the  smallest,  a  galleon  of  forty  tons,  and  two 
open  boats,  carrying  in  all  fifty  sailors,  besides  Pont- 
briand,  La  Pommeraye,  and  other  gentlemen,  he  set 
out  for  Hochelaga. 

Slowly  gliding  on  their  way  by  walls  of  verdure 
brightened  in  the  autumnal  sun,  they  saw  forests 
festooned  with  grape-vines,  and  waters  alive  with 
wild-fowl ;  they  heard  the  song  of  the  blackbird,  the 
thrush,  and,  as  they  fondly  thought,  the  nightingale. 
The  galleon  grounded;  they  left  her,  and,  advancing 
with  the  boats  alone,  on  the  second  of  October  neared 
the  goal  of  their  hopes,  the  mysterious  Hochelaga. 

Just  below  where  now  are  seen  the  quays  and 
storehouses  of  Montreal,  a  thousand  Indians  thronged 
the  shore,  wild  with  delight,  dancing,  singing,  crowd- 
ing about  the  strangers,  and  showering  into  the  boats 
their  gifts  of  fish  and  maize ;  and,  as  it  grew  dark, 
fu'es  lighted  up  the  night,  while,  far  and  near,  the 
French  could  see  the  excited  savages  leaping  and 
rejoicing  by  the  blaze. 

At  dawn  of  day,  marshalled  and  accoutred,  they 
marched  for  Hochelaga.  An  Indian  path  led  them 
through  the  forest  which  covered  the  site  of  Montreal. 
The  morning  air  was  chill  and  sharp,  the  leaves  were 
changing  hue,  and  beneath  the  oaks  the  ground  was 
thickly  strewn  with  acorns.  They  soon  met  an 
Indian  chief  with  a  party  of  tribesmen,  or,  as  the 


1535.]  HOCHELAGA.  29 

old  narrative  has  it,  "one  of  the  principal  lords  of 
the  said  city,"  attended  with  a  numerous  retinue.^ 
Greeting  them  after  the  concise  courtesy  of  the 
forest,  he  led  them  to  a  fire  kindled  by  the  side  of 
the  path  for  their  comfort  and  refreshment,  seated 
them  on  the  ground,  and  made  them  a  long  harangue, 
receiving  in  requital  of  his  eloquence  two  hatchets, 
two  knives,  and  a  crucifix,  the  last  of  which  he  was 
invited  to  kiss.  This  done,  they  resumed  their 
march,  and  presently  came  upon  open  fields,  covered 
far  and  near  with  the  ripened  maize,  its  leaves  rust- 
ling, and  its  yellow  grains  gleaming  between  the 
})arting  husks.  Before  them,  wrapped  in  forests 
painted  by  the  early  frosts,  rose  the  ridgy  back  of 
the  Mountain  of  Montreal,  and  below,  encompassed 
with  its  corn-fields,  lay  the  Indian  town.  Nothing 
was  visible  but  its  encircling  palisades.  They  were 
of  trunks  of  trees,  set  in  a  triple  row.  The  outer 
and  inner  ranges  inclined  till  they  met  and  crossed 
near  the  summit,  while  the  upright  row  between 
them,  aided  by  transvei-se  braces,  gave  to  the  whole 
an  abundant  strength.  Within  were  galleries  for  the 
defenders,  rude  ladders  to  mount  them,  and  magazines 
of  stones  to  throw  down  on  the  heads  of  assailants. 
It  was  a  mode  of  fortification  practised  by  all  the 
tiibes  speaking  dialects  of  the  Iroquois. ^ 

'  "  ,  .  .  I'un  lies  principaulx  seigneurs  de  la  dicte  ville,  accom- 
paignt*  de  plusicurs  persouiies."     Cartier  (1545),  23. 

-  That  the  Indians  of  Ilochelaga  belonged  to  the  Iluron-Iroiiuois 
family  of  tribes  is  evident  from  tlie  affinities  of  their  language  (com- 
pare Gallatin,  Synopsis  of  Indian  Tribes),  and  from  the  construction 


80  EARLY  FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1535. 

The  voyagers  entered  the  narrow  portal.  Within, 
they  saw  some  fifty  of  those  harge  obh)iig  dwellings  so 
familiar  in  after  years  to  the  eyes  of  the  Jesuit 
apostles  in  Iroquois  and  Huron  forests.     They  were 

of  their  houses  and  defensive  works.  This  was  identical  with  the 
construction  universal,  or  nearly  so,  among  the  Huron-Iroquois  tribes. 
]n  Haniusio,  III.  446,  there  is  a  plan  of  Hochelaga  and  its  defences, 
marked  by  errors  which  seem  to  show  that  the  maker  had  not  seen 
the  objects  represented.  Whence  the  sketch  was  derived  does  not 
appear,  as  the  original  edition  of  Cartier  does  not  contain  it.  In  1800, 
a  ([uantity  of  Indian  remains  were  dug  up  at  Montreal,  immediately 
below  Sherbrooke  Street,  between  Mansfield  and  Metcalfe  Streets 
(See  a  paper  by  Dr.  Dawson,  in  Canadian  Naturalist  and  Geologist, 
V.  430.)  They  may  perha[)S  indicate  the  site  of  Hochelaga.  A  few, 
which  have  a  distinctive  cliaracter,  belong  not  to  the  Algonquin,  but 
to  tlie  IIuron-Iro(|Uois  type.  The  short-stemmed  pipe  of  terra-cotta  is 
the  exact  counterpart  of  those  found  in  the  great  Huron  deposits  of 
the  dead  in  Canada  West,  and  in  Iroquois  burial-places  of  Western 
New  York.  So  also  of  the  fragments  of  pottery  and  the  instruments 
of  bone  used  in  ornamenting  it. 

The  assertion  of  certain  Algouquins,  who,  in  1642,  told  the  mission- 
aries that  their  ancestors  once  lived  at  Montreal,  is  far  from  conclusive 
evidence.  It  may  have  referred  to  an  occupancy  subsequent  to  Car- 
tier's  visit,  or,  which  is  more  probable,  the  Indians,  after  their  favor- 
ite practice,  may  have  amused  themselves  with  "  hoaxing "  their 
interlocutors. 

Cartier  calls  his  vocabulary,  Le  Langage  des  Pays  et  Roi/aulmes  de 
Hochelaga  et  Canada,  aultrevient  appellee  par  nous  la  Nouuelle  France 
(ed.  154.")).  For  this  and  other  reasons  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
the  Indians  of  Quebec,  or  Stadacone,  were  also  of  the  Huron-Iroquois 
race,  since  by  Canada  he  means  the  country  about  Quebec.  Seventy 
years  later,  the  whole  region  was  occupied  by  Algonquins,  and  no 
trace  remained  of  Hochelaga  or  Stadacone'. 

There  was  a  tradition  among  the  Aguie's  (Mohawks),  one  of  the 
five  tribes  of  the  Iroquois,  that  their  ancestors  were  once  settled  at 
Quebec.  See  Lafitau,  I.  101.  Canada,  as  already  mentioned,  is  a 
Mohawk  word.  The  tradition  recorded  by  Colden,  in  his  History  of 
the  Five  Nations  (Iroquois),  that  they  were  formerly  settled  near 
Montreal,  is  of  interest  here.  The  tradition  declares  that  they  were 
driven  thence  by  the  Adirondacks  (Algonquins). 


1535.]  HOCHELAGA.  31 

about  fifty  yards  in  length,  and  twelve  or  fifteen 
wide,  framed  of  sapling  poles  closely  covered  mth 
sheets  of  bark,  and  each  containing  several  fires  and 
several  families.  In  the  midst  of  the  town  was  an 
open  area,  or  public  square,  a  stone's  throw  in  width. 
Here  Cartier  and  his  followei-s  stopped,  while  the 
surrounding  houses  of  bark  disgorged  their  inmates, 
—  swarms  of  children,  and  young  women  and  old, 
their  infants  in  their  arms.  They  crowded  about  the 
visitors,  crying  for  delight,  touching  their  beards, 
feeling  their  faces,  and  holding  up  the  screeching 
infants  to  be  touched  in  turn.  The  marvellous  visi- 
tors, strange  in  hue,  strange  in  attire,  with  mous- 
tached  lip  and  bearded  chin,  with  arquebuse,  halberd, 
helmet,  and  cuirass,  seemed  rather  demigods  than 
men. 

Due  time  having  been  allowed  for  this  exuberance 
of  feminine  rapture,  the  warriors  interposed,  banished 
the  women  and  children  to  a  distance,  and  squatted 
on  the  ground  around  the  French,  row  within  row 
of  swarthy  forms  and  eager  faces,  "as  if,"  says 
Cartier,  "we  were  going  to  act  a  play."^  Then 
appeared  a  troop  of  women,  each  bringing  a  mat, 
with  which  they  carpeted  the  bare  earth  for  the 
behoof  of  their  guests.  The  latter  being  seated,  the 
chief  of  the  nation  was  borne  before  them  on  a  deer- 
skin by  a  number  of  his  tribesmen,  a  bedridden  old 
savage,  paralyzed  and  helpless,  squalid  as  the  rest  in 

*  "  .  .  .  comme  sy  eussions  voulu  iouer  vng  raystere."  Cartier,  25 
(1545). 


32  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1535. 

his  attire,  and  distinguished  only  by  a  red  fillet, 
inwrought  with  the  dyed  quills  of  tlie  Canada  porcu- 
pine, encircling  his  lank  black  hair.  They  placed 
him  on  the  ground  at  Cartier's  feet  and  made  signs 
of  welcome  for  him,  while  he  pointed  feebly  to  his 
powerless  limbs,  and  implored  the  healing  touch  from 
the  hand  of  the  French  chief.  Cartier  complied,  and 
received  in  acknowledgment  the  red  fillet  of  his 
grateful  patient.  Then  from  surrounding  dwellings 
appeared  a  woeful  throng,  the  sick,  the  lame,  the 
blind,  the  maimed,  the  decrepit,  brought  or  led  forth 
and  placed  on  the  earth  before  the  perplexed  com- 
mander, "as  if,"  he  says,  "a  god  had  come  down  to 
cure  them."  His  skill  in  medicine  being  far  behind 
the  emergency,  he  pronounced  over  liis  petitioners  a 
portion  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross,  and  uttered  a  prayer,  not  for  their  bodies 
only,  but  for  their  miserable  souls.  Next  he  read 
the  passion  of  the  Saviour,  to  which,  though  com- 
prehending not  a  word,  his  audience  listened  with 
grave  attention.  Then  came  a  distribution  of  pres- 
ents. The  squaws  and  cliildren  were  recalled,  and, 
with  the  warriors,  placed  in  separate  groups.  Knives 
and  hatchets  were  given  to  the  men,  and  beads  to  the 
women,  while  pewter  rings  and  images  of  the  Agnus 
Dei  were  flung  among  the  troop  of  children,  whence 
ensued  a  vigorous  scramble  in  the  square  of  Hoche- 
laga.  Now  the  French  trumpeters  pressed  their 
trumpets  to  their  lips,  and  blew  a  blast  that  filled 
the  air  with  warlike  din  and  the  hearts  of  the  hearei-s 


1535.]  HOCIIELAGA.  33 

wdth  amazement  and  delight.  Bidding  their  hosts 
farewell,  the  visitors  formed  their  ranks  and  defiled 
through  the  gate  once  more,  despite  the  efforts  of  a 
crowd  of  women,  avIio,  with  clamorous  hospitality, 
beset  them  with  gifts  of  fish,  beans,  com,  and  other 
viands  of  uninviting  aspect,  which  the  Frenchmen 
courteously  declined. 

A  ti'oop  of  Indians  followed,  and  guided  them  to 
the  top  of  the  neighboring  mountain.  Cartier  called 
it  Mont  Boyal^  Montreal;  and  hence  the  name  of  the 
busy  city  which  now  holds  the  site  of  the  vanished 
Hochelaga.  Stadacon^  and  Hochelaga,  Quebec  and 
Montreal,  in  the  sixteenth  centuiy  as  in  the  nine- 
teenth, were  the  centres  of  Canadian  population. 

From  the  summit,  that  noble  prosj)ect  met  his  eye 
which  at  this  day  is  the  delight  of  tourists,  but 
strangely  changed,  since,  first  of  white  men,  the 
Breton  voyager  gazed  upon  it.  Tower  and  dome 
and  spire,  congregated  roofs,  white  sail,  and  gliding 
steamer,  animate  its  vast  expanse  with  varied  life. 
Cartier  saw  a  different  scene.  East,  west,  and  south, 
the  mantling  forest  was  over  all,  and  the  broad  blue 
ribbon  of  the  great  river  glistened  amid  a  realm  of 
verdure.  Beyond,  to  the  bounds  of  Mexico,  stretched 
a  leafy  desert,  and  the  vast  hive  of  industry,  the 
miglity  battle-ground  of  later  centuries,  lay  sunk  in 
savage  torpor,  \vrapped  in  illimitable  woods. 

The  French  re-embarked,  l)ade  farewell  to  Hoche- 
laga, retraced  their  lonely  course  down  the  St.  Law- 
rence,   and   reached    Stadacon<5    in   safety.     On    the 


34  EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1536. 

bank  of  the  St.  Charles,  their  companions  had  built 
in  their  absence  a  fort  of  palisades,  and  the  ships, 
hauled  up  the  little  stream,  lay  moored  before  it.^ 
Here  the  self-exiled  company  were  soon  besieged  by 
the  rigors  of  the  Canadian  winter.  The  rocks,  the 
shores,  the  pine-trees,  the  solid  floor  of  the  frozen 
river,  all  alike  were  blanketed  in  snow  beneath  the 
keen  cold  rays  of  the  dazzling  sun.  The  drifts  rose 
above  the  sides  of  their  ships;  masts,  spars,  and 
cordage  were  thick  with  glittering  incrustations  and 
sparkling  rows  of  icicles ;  a  frosty  armor,  four  inches 
thick,  encased  the  bulwarks.  Yet,  in  the  bitterest 
weather,  the  neighboring  Indians,  "hardy,"  says  the 
journal,  "as  so  many  beasts,"  came  daily  to  the  fort, 
wading,  half  naked,  waist-deep  through  the  snow. 
At  length,  their  friendsliip  began  to  abate;  their 
visits  grew  less  frequent,  and  during  December  had 
wholly  ceased,  when  a  calamity  fell  upon  the 
French. 

A  malignant  scurvy  broke  out  among  them.  Man 
after  man  went  down  before  the  hideous  disease,  till 
twenty-five  were  dead,  and  only  three  or  four  were 
left  in  health.  The  sound  were  too  few  to  attend 
the  sick,  and  the  wretched  sufferers  lay  in  helpless 
despair,  dreaming  of  the  sun  and  the  vines  of  France. 
The  ground,  hard  as  flint,  defied  their  feeble  efforts, 

^  In  1608,  Chain  plain  found  the  remains  of  Cartier's  fort.  See 
Champlain  (1613),  184-191.  Charlevoix  is  clearly  wrong  as  to  the 
locality.  M.  Faribault,  who  has  collected  the  evidence  (see  Voyages 
de  Decouverte  an  Canada,  109-119),  thinks  the  fort  was  near  the  junc- 
tion of  the  little  river  Lairet  with  the  St.  Charles. 


1535,1536.]  WINTER  MISERIES.  35 

and,  unable  to  bury  their  dead,  they  hid  them  in 
snow-drifts.  Cartier  appealed  to  the  saints;  but 
they  turned  a  deaf  ear.  Then  he  nailed  against  a 
tree  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  and  on  a  Sunday  sum- 
moned forth  his  woe-begone  followers,  who,  haggard, 
reeling,  bloated  with  their  maladies,  moved  in  pro- 
cession to  the  spot,  and,  kneeling  in  the  snow,  sang 
litanies  and  psalms  of  David.  That  day  died  Philippe 
Rougemont,  of  Amboise,  aged  twenty-two  years. 
The  Holy  Virgin  deigned  no  other  response. 

There  was  fear  that  the  Indians,  learning  their 
misery,  might  finish  the  work  that  scurvy  had  begun. 
None  of  them,  therefore,  were  allowed  to  approach 
the  fort;  and  when  a  party  of  savages  lingered  within 
hearing,  Cartier  forced  liis  invalid  garrison  to  beat 
with  sticks  and  stones  against  the  walls,  that  their 
dangerous  neighbors,  deluded  by  the  clatter,  might 
think  them  engaged  in  hard  labor.  These  objects  of 
their  fear  proved,  however,  the  instruments  of  their 
salvation.  Cartier,  walking  one  day  near  the  river, 
met  an  Indian,  who  not  long  before  had  been  pros- 
trate, like  many  of  his  fellows,  with  the  scurvy,  but 
who  was  now,  to  all  appearance,  in  high  health  and 
spirits.  What  agency  had  wrought  this  marvellous 
recovery?  According  to  the  Indian,  it  was  a  certain 
evergreen,  called  by  him  amcda^^  a  decoction  of  the 
leaves  of  which  was  sovereign  against  the   disease. 

1  Ameda,  in  the  eilitiuu  of  1545;  anneilda,  in  Lescarbot,  Ternaux- 
Conipans,  and  Farihaiilt.  The  wonderful  tree  seems  to  have  been  a 
spruce,  or,  more  probably,  an  arl)or-vitie. 


36  EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1536. 

The  experiment  was  tried.  The  sick  men  drank 
copiously  of  the  healing  draught,  —  so  copiously 
indeed  that  in  six  days  they  drank  a  tree  as  large  as 
a  French  oak.  Thus  vigorously  assailed,  the  dis- 
temper relaxed  its  hold,  and  health  and  hope  began 
to  revisit  the  hapless  company. 

When  this  winter  of  misery  had  worn  away,  and 
the  ships  were  thawed  from  their  icy  fetters,  Cartier 
prepared  to  return.  He  had  made  notable  discoveries ; 
but  these  were  as  nothing  to  the  tales  of  wonder  that 
had  reached  his  ear,  —  of  a  land  of  gold  and  rubies, 
of  a  nation  white  like  the  French,  of  men  who  lived 
without  food,  and  of  others  to  whom  Nature  had 
granted  but  one  leg.  Should  he  stake  his  credit  on 
these  marvels  ?  It  were  better  that  they  who  had  re- 
counted them  to  him  should,  with  their  own  lips, 
recount  them  also  to  the  King,  and  to  this  end  he 
resolved  that  Donnacona  and  his  chiefs  should  go 
with  him  to  court.  He  lured  them  therefore  to  the 
fort,  and  led  them  into  an  ambuscade  of  sailors,  who, 
seizing  the  astonished  guests,  hurried  them  on  board 
the  ships.  Having  accomplished  this  treachery,  the 
voyagers  proceeded  to  plant  the  emblem  of  Cliristian- 
ity.  The  cross  was  raised,  the  fleur-de-lis  planted 
near  it,  and,  spreading  their  sails,  they  steered  for 
home.  It  was  the  sixteenth  of  July,  1536,  when  Car- 
tier  again  cast  anchor  under  the  walls  of  St.  iMalo.i 

^  Of  the  original  edition  (1545)  of  the  iiarratire  of  this  voyage  ouly 
one  copy  is  known,  —  that  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  styled,  Brief 
Recit,  ^-  succincte  narration,  de  la  nauigation  faicte  es  ysles  de  Canada, 
Hochelage  Sj-  Saguenay  ^-  autres,  auec  particulieres  meurs,  langaige,  Sf 


1540.]  EOBERVAL'S  COMMISSION.  37 

A  rigorous  climate,  a  savage  people,  a  fatal  disease, 
and  a  soil  barren  of  gold  were  the  allurements  of 
New  France.  Nor  were  the  times  auspicious  for  a 
renewal  of  the  enterprise.  Charles  the  Fifth,  flushed 
with  his  African  triumphs,  challenged  the  Most 
Christian  King  to  single  combat.  The  war  flamed 
forth  with  renewed  fury,  and  ten  years  elapsed  before 
a  hollow  truce  varnished  the  hate  of  the  royal  rivals 
with  a  thin  pretence  of  courtesy.  Peace  returned; 
but  Francis  the  First  was  sinking  to  his  ignominious 
grave,  under  the  scourge  of  his  favorite  goddess,  and 
Chabot,  patron  of  the  former  voyages,  was  in 
disgrace.^ 

Meanwhile  the  ominous  adventure  of  New  France 
had  found  a  champion  in  the  person  of  Jean  Francois 
de  la  Roque,  Sieur  de  Roberval,  a  nobleman  of 
Picardy.  Though  a  man  of  high  account  in  his  own 
province,  his  past  honors  paled  before  the  splendor 
of  the  titles  said  to  have  been  now  conferred  on  him, 
—  Lord  of  Norembega,  Viceroy  and  Lieutenant- 
General  in  Canada,  Hochelaga,  Saguenay,  Newfound- 
land, Belle  Isle,  Carpunt,  Labrador,  the  Great  Bay, 
and  Baccalaos.2     To  this  windy  gift  of  ink  and  parch- 

ceremonies  des  habitnns  d'iceUes ;  fort  delectable  d.  vcoir.  As  may  be 
gathered  from  the  title,  the  style  and  orthography  are  those  of  tlie 
days  of  Kahelais.  It  has  been  reprinted  (1863)  with  valuable  notes  by 
M.  d'Avezac. 

1  Brantome,  II.  283 ;  Anquetil,  V.  397 ;  Sismondi,  XVII.  62. 

2  Labrador  —  Lahoratoris  Terra  —  is  so  called  from  the  circum- 
stance that  Cortereal  in  the  year  1500  stole  thence  a  cargo  of  Indians 
for  slaves.  Belle  Isle  and  Carpnnt,  —  the  strait  and  islands  between 
Labrador  and  Newfoundland.    The  Great  Bay,  —  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 


38  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1540. 

mcnt  was  added  a  solid  grant  from  the  royal  treasury, 
with  which  five  vessels  were  procured  and  equipped; 
md  to  Cartier  was  given  the  post  of  Captain-General. 
"We  have  resolved,"  says  Francis,  "to  send  him 
again  to  the  lands  of  Canada  and  Hochelaga,  which 
form  the  extremity  of  Asia  towards  the  west."^  His 
commission  declares  the  objects  of  the  enterprise  to 
be  discovery,  settlement,  and  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians,  who  are  described  as  "  men  without  knowl- 
edge of  God  or  use  of  reason,  "^  —  a  pious  design, 
held  doubtless  in  full  sincerity  by  the  royal  profligate, 
now,  in  his  decline,  a  fervent  champion  of  the  Faith 
and  a  strenuous  tormentor  of  heretics.  The  machin- 
ery of  conversion  was  of  a  character  somewhat  ques- 
tionable, since  Cartier  and  Roberval  were  empowered 
to  ransack  the  prisons  for  thieves,  robbers,  and  other 

rence.  Norembega,  or  Norumbega,  more  properly  called  Arambec 
(Haklujt,  III.  167),  was,  in  Ramusio's  map,  the  country  embraced 
within  Nova  Scotia,  southern  New  Brunswick,  and  a  part  of  Maine. 
De  Laet  confines  it  to  a  district  about  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot. 
Wytfleit  and  other  early  writers  sa}'  that  it  had  a  capital  city  of  the 
same  name ;  and  in  several  old  maps  this  fabulous  metropolis  is  laid 
down,  with  towers  and  churches,  on  the  river  Penobscot.  The  word 
is  of  Indian  origin. 

Before  me  is  the  commission  of  Roberval,  Lettres  Patetites  accordees 
a  Jffian  Francoi/s  de  la  Roque  Sr  de  Roberval,  copied  from  the  French 
archives.  Here  he  is  simply  styled  "  notre  Lieutenant-General,  Chef 
Ducteur  et  Cappitaine  de  la  d.  entreprinse."  The  patent  is  in  Lescar- 
bot  (1618).  In  the  Archives  de  la  Bibliotheque  Publique  de  Rouen,  an 
edict  is  preserved  authorizing  Roberval  to  raise  "uue  arme'e  de  volon- 
taires  avec  victuailles  artillerie,  etc.  pour  aller  au  pays  de  Canada." 
Harrisse  has  printed  curious  original  documents  concerning  Roberval 
in  his  Notes  sur  la  Nouvelle  France. 

^  De  par  le  Roi/,  17  Oct.,  1540  (Harrisse). 

2  See  the  commission  in  Lescarbot,  I.  411 ;  and  Hazard,  1. 19. 


1540.]  ROBERVAL'S   COMMISSION.  39 

malefactors,  to  complete  their  crews  and  strengthen 
the  colony.  "Whereas,"  says  the  King,  "we  have 
undertaken  this  voyage  for  the  honor  of  God  our 
Creator,  desiring  with  all  our  heart  to  do  that  which 
shall  be  agreeable  to  Him,  it  is  our  will  to  perform  a 
compassionate  and  meritorious  work  towards  criminals 
and  malefactors,  to  the  end  that  they  may  acknowl- 
edge the  Creator,  return  thanks  to  Him,  and  mend 
their  lives.  Therefore  we  have  resolved  to  cause  to 
be  delivered  to  our  aforesaid  lieutenant  (Roberval), 
such  and  so  many  of  the  aforesaid  criminals  and  male- 
factors detained  in  our  prisons  as  may  seem  to  him 
useful  and  necessary  to  be  carried  to  the  aforesaid 
countries."  1  Of  the  expected  profits  of  the  voyage 
the  adventurers  were  to  have  one  third  and  the  King 
another,  while  the  remainder  was  to  be  reserved 
towards  defrajdng  expenses. 

With  respect  to  Donnacona  and  his  tribesmen, 
basely  kidnapped  at  Stadacone,  their  souls  had 
been  better  cared  for  than  their  bodies;  for, 
having  been  duly  baptized,  they  all  died  witliin  a 
year  or  two,  to  the  great  detriment,  as  it  proved,  of 
the  expedition.  2 

Meanwhile,  from  beyond  the  Pyrenees,  the  Most 
Catholic  King,  with  alarmed  and  jealous  eye,  watched 
the  preparations  of  his  Most  Christian  enemy. 
America,  in  his  eyes,  was  one  vast  province  of  Spain, 

*  Pouvoir  donne  par  le  Roj  au  Seigneur  de  Roberval,  7  Feb.,  1540 
(Harrisse). 

2  M.  Charles  Cunat  a  M.  L.  Ilovins,  Maire  de  St  Malo.     This  is  a 


40  EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1540. 

to  be  vigilantly  guarded  against  the  intruding  for- 
eigner. To  what  end  were  men  mustered,  and  ships 
fitted  out  in  the  Breton  seaports  ?  Was  it  for  coloniza- 
tion, and  if  so,  where  ?  Was  it  in  Southern  Florida, 
or  on  the  frozen  shores  of  Baccalaos,  of  which  Breton 
cod-fishers  claimed  the  discovery?  Or  would  the 
French  build  forts  on  the  Bahamas,  whence  they 
could  waylay  the  gold  ships  in  the  Bahama  Channel  ? 
Or  was  the  expedition  destined  against  the  Spanish 
settlements  of  the  islands  or  the  Main?  Reinforce- 
ments were  despatched  in  haste,  and  a  spy  was  sent 
to  France,  who,  passing  from  port  to  port,  Quimper, 
St.  Malo,  Brest,  Morlaix,  came  back  freighted  with 
exaggerated  tales  of  preparation.  The  Council  of 
the  Indies  was  called.  "  The  French  are  bound  for 
Baccalaos,"  —  such  was  the  substance  of  their  report; 
"your  Majesty  will  do  well  to  send  two  caravels  to 
watch  their  movements,  and  a  force  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  said  country.  And  since  there  is  no  other 
money  to  pay  for  it,  the  gold  from  Peru,  now  at 
Panama,  might  be  used  to  that  end."  The  Cardinal 
of  Seville  thought  lightly  of  the  danger,  and  prophe- 
sied that  the  French  would  reap  notliing  from  their 
enterprise  but  disappointment  and  loss.  The  King 
of  Portugal,  sole  acknowledged  partner  with  Spain 

report  of  researches  made  by  M.  Cunat  in  1844  in  the  archives  of  St. 
Malo. 

Extrait  Baptistat're  des  Sauvages  amenes  en  France  par  Honneste 
Homme  Jacques  Cartier. 

Thevet  says  that  he  knew  Dounacona  in  France,  and  found  him  "  a 
good  Christian." 


1541.]  CARTIER  SAILS.  41 

in  the  ownership  of  the  New  World,  was  invited  by 
the  Spanish  amliassador  to  take  part  in  an  expedition 
against  the  encroaching  French.  "  They  can  do  no 
harm  at  Baccalaos,"  was  the  cold  reply;  "and  so," 
adds  the  indignant  ambassador,  "this  King  would 
say  if  they  should  come  and  take  him  here  at  Lisbon ; 
such  is  the  softness  they  show  here  on  the  one  hand, 
while,  on  the  other,  they  wish  to  give  law  to  the 
whole  world."  1 

The  five  ships,  occasions  of  tliis  turmoil  and  alarm, 
had  lain  at  St.  Malo  waiting  for  cannon  and  muni- 
tions from  Normandy  and  Champagne.  They  waited 
in  vain,  and  as  the  King's  orders  were  stringent 
against  delay,  it  was  resolved  that  Cartier  should  sail 
at  once,  leaving  Roberval  to  follow  with  additional 
ships  when  the  expected  supplies  arrived. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  jNIay,  1541,2  the  Breton 
captain  again  spread  his  canvas  for  New  France,  and, 
passing  in  safety  the  tempestuous  Atlantic,  the  fog- 
banks  of  Newfoundland,  the  island  rocks  clouded 
with  screaming  sea-fowl,  and  the  forests  breathing 
piny  odors  from  the  shore,  cast  anchor  again  beneath 
the  cliffs  of  Quebec.  Canoes  came  out  from  shore 
filled  with  feathered  savages  inquiring  for  their 
kidnapped  chiefs.  "  Donnacona, "  replied  Cartier,  "  is 
dead;"  but  he  added  the  politic  falsehood,  that  the 
others  had  married  in  France,  and  lived  in  state,  like 

*  See  the  documents  on  tliis  svibject  in  the  Coleccion  de  Varios  Doom 
mentos  of  Buckingham  Smith,  I.  107-112. 
^  Hakluyt's  date,  1540,  is  incorrect. 


42  EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1541. 

great  lords.  The  Indians  pretended  to  be  satisfied; 
but  it  was  soon  apparent  that  they  looked  askance  on 
the  perfidious  strangers. 

Cartier  pursued  his  course,  sailed  three  leagues  and 
a  half  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  anchored  off  the 
mouth  of  the  River  of  Cap  Rouge.  It  was  late  in 
August,  and  the  leafy  landscape  sweltered  in  the 
sun.  The  Frenchmen  landed,  picked  up  quartz 
crystals  on  the  shore  and  thought  them  diamonds, 
climbed  the  steep  promontory,  di'ank  at  the  spring 
near  the  top,  looked  abroad  on  the  wooded  slopes 
beyond  the  little  river,  waded  through  the  tall  grass 
of  the  meadow,  found  a  quarry  of  slate,  and  gathered 
scales  of  a  yellow  mineral  which  glistened  like  gold, 
then  returned  to  their  boats,  crossed  to  the  south 
shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and,  languid  with  the 
heat,  rested  in  the  shade  of  forests  laced  wdth  an 
entanglement  of  grape-vines. 

Now  their  task  began,  and  wliile  some  cleared  off 
the  woods  and  sowed  turnip-seed,  others  cut  a  zigzag 
road  up  the  height,  and  others  built  two  forts,  one  at 
the  summit,  and  one  on  the  shore  below.  The  forts 
finished,  the  Vicomte  de  Beaupre  took  command, 
while  Cartier  went  with  two  boats  to  explore  the 
rapids  above  Hochelaga.  When  at  length  he  returned, 
the  autumn  was  far  advanced;  and  wdth  the  gloom 
of  a  Canadian  November  came  distrust,  foreboding, 
and  homesickness.  Roberval  had  not  appeared;  the 
Indians  kept  jealously  aloof;  the  motley  colony  was 
sullen   as  the  dull,   raw  air  around  it.     There  was 


1542.]  ROBERVAL   AND   CARTIER.  43 

disgust  and  ire  at   Charlesbourg-Royal,    for   so   the 
place  was  called.^ 

Meanwhile,  unexpected  delays  had  detained  the 
impatient  Roberval;  nor  was  it  until  the  sixteenth  of 
April,  1542,  that,  with  three  ships  and  two  hundred 
colonists,  he  set  sail  from  Uochelle.  When,  on  the 
eighth  of  June,  he  entered  the  harbor  of  St.  John, 
he  found  seventeen  fishing-vessels  lying  there  at 
anchor.  Soon  after,  he  descried  three  other  sail 
rounding  the  entrance  of  the  haven,  and,  mth  anger 
and  amazement,  recognized  the  ships  of  Jacques 
Cartier.  That  voyager  had  broken  up  his  colony  and 
abandoned  New  France.  What  motives  had  prompted 
a  desertion  little  consonant  with  the  resolute  spirit 
of  the  man  it  is  impossible  to  say,  —  whether  sickness 
within,  or  Indian  enemies  without,  disgust  with  an 
enterprise  whose  unripened  fruits  had  proved  so  hard 
and  bitter,  or  discontent  at  finding  himself  reduced 
to  a  post  of  subordination  in  a  country  which  he 
had  discovered  and  where  he  had  commanded.  The 
Viceroy  ordered  him  to  return;  but  Cartier  escaped 
with  his  vessels  under  cover  of  night,  and  made  sail 
for  France,  carrying  with  him  as  trophies  a  few 
quartz  diamonds  from  Cap  Rouge,  and  grains  of 
sham  gold  from  the  neighboring  slate  ledges.  Thus 
closed   the    third    Canadian   voyage  of   this   notable 

^  The  oriffinal  narrative  of  this  voyage  is  fragmentary,  and  exists 
only  in  the  translation  of  Ilakluyt.  rurchas,  Belknap,  Forstcr,  Clial- 
mers,  and  tlio  other  secondary  writers,  all  draw  from  this  source.  The 
narrative  puhlishcd  hy  the  Literary  and  Historical  Society  of  Quehec 
is  the  English  version  of  Ilakluyt  retranslated  into  French. 


44  EARLY   FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1542. 

explorer.  His  discoveries  had  gained  for  him  a 
patent  of  nobility,  and  he  owned  the  seigniorial  man- 
sion of  Limoilou,^  a  rude  structure  of  stone  still 
standing.  Here,  and  in  the  neighboring  town  of  St. 
Malo,  where  also  he  had  a  house,  he  seems  to  have 
lived  for  many  years. ^ 

Roberval  once  more  set  sail,  steering  northward  to 
the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle  and  the  dreaded  Isles  of 
Demons.  And  here  an  incident  befell  which  the 
all-believing  Thevet  records  in  manifest  good  faith, 
and  which,  stripped  of  the  adornments  of  superstition 
and  a  love  of  the  marvellous,  has  without  doubt  a 
nucleus  of  truth.     I  give  the  tale  as  I  find  it. 

The  Viceroy's  company  was  of  a  mixed  com- 
plexion. There  were  nobles,  officers,  soldiers,  sailors, 
adventurers,  with  women  too,  and  children.  Of  the 
women,  some  were  of  birth  and  station,  and  among 
them  a  damsel  called  Marguerite,  a  niece  of  Roberval 
himself.     In  the  ship  was  a  young  gentleman  who 

1  This  curious  relic,  which  in  1865  was  still  entire,  in  the  suburbs  of 
St.  Malo,  was  as  rude  in  construction  as  an  ordinary  farmhouse.  It  had 
only  a  kitchen  and  a  hall  below,  and  two  rooms  above.  At  the  side  was 
a  small  stable,  and,  opposite,  a  barn.  These  buildings,  together  with 
two  heavy  stone  walls,  enclosed  a  square  court.  Adjacent  was  a  garden 
and  an  orchard.  The  whole  indicates  a  rough  and  simple  way  of  life. 
See  Rame,  Note  sur  le  Manoir  de  Jacques  Cartiei: 

-  The  above  account  of  the  departure  of  Cartier  from  Canada  is 
from  Hakluyt.  Since  it  was  written,  M.  Gosselin,  archivist  of  the 
Palais  de  Justice  at  Rouen,  has  discovered  a  paper  which  shows  that 
Roberval  sailed  from  France,  not  on  the  16th  of  April,  1542,  but  on  tlie 
22d  of  August,  1541,  thus  confusing  the  narrative  of  Ilakluvt.  What 
remains  certaiu  is  that  Cartier  left  Canada  while  Roberval  stayed  there, 
and  tliat  there  were  disputes  between  them.  See  Rame',  Documents 
Ine'dits  (1865),  22. 


1542]  MARGUERITE.  45 

had  embarked  for  love  of  her.  His  love  was  too  well 
requited;  and  the  stern  Viceroy,  scandalized  and 
enraged  at  a  passion  which  scorned  concealment  and 
set  shame  at  defiance,  cast  anchor  by  tlie  haunted 
island,  landed  his  indiscreet  relative,  gave  her  four 
arquebuses  for  defence,  and,  Avith  an  old  Norman 
nurse  named  Bastienne,  who  had  pandered  to  the 
lovers,  left  her  to  her  fate.  Her  gallant  threw  him- 
self into  the  surf,  and  by  desperate  effort  gained 
the  shore,  with  two  more  guns  and  a  supply  of 
ammunition. 

The  sliip  weighed  anchor,  receded,  vanished,  and 
they  were  left  alone.  Yet  not  so,  for  the  demon 
lords  of  the  island  beset  them  day  and  night,  raging 
around  their  hut  with  a  confused  and  hungry  clamor- 
ing, striving  to  force  the  frail  barrier.  The  lovers 
had  repented  of  their  sin,  though  not  abandoned  it, 
and  Heaven  was  on  their  side.  The  saints  vouch- 
safed their  aid,  and  the  offended  Virgin,  relenting, 
held  before  them  her  protecting  shield.  In  the  form 
of  beasts  or  other  shapes  abominably  and  unutterably 
hideous,  the  brood  of  hell,  howling  in  baffled  fury, 
tore  at  the  branches  of  the  sylvan  dwelling;  but  a 
celestial  hand  was  ever  interposed,  and  there  was  a 
viewless  barrier  which  they  might  not  pass.  Mar- 
guerite became  pregnant.  Here  was  a  douljle  prize, 
two  souls  in  one,  mother  and  child.  The  fiends  grew 
frantic,  but  all  in  vain.  She  stood  undaunted  amid 
these  horrors;  but  her  lover,  dismayed  and  heart- 
broken, sickened  and  died.     Her  child  soon  followed; 


46  KAIJLV   FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1542. 

llicii  till!  old  Norman  nurse  found  her  unhallowed 
rt'sl  in  tliiit  accursed  soil,  and  Marguerite  was  left 
alone.  Neither  her  reason  nor  her  courage  failed. 
Wlicii  the  demons  assailed  her,  she  shot  at  them  with 
licr  i^iiii,  but  they  answered  with  hellish  merriment, 
and  thenceforth  she  placed  her  trust  in  Heaven  alone, 
'riiere  were  foes  around  her  of  the  upper,  no  less  than 
of  the  nether  Avorld.  Of  these,  the  bears  were  the 
UKJst  redoubtable;  yet,  being  vulnerable  to  mortal 
weapons,  she  killed  three  of  them,  all,  says  the  story, 
"as  white  as  an  egg.'^ 

It  was  two  years  and  five  months  from  her  landing 
on  the  island,  when,  far  out  at  sea,  the  crew  of  a 
small  fishing-craft  saw  a  column  of  smoke  curling 
upward  from  the  haunted  shore.  Was  it  a  device  of 
the  fiends  to  lure  them  to  their  ruin?  They  thought 
so,  and  kept  aloof.  But  misgiving  seized  them. 
They  warily  drew  near,  and  descried  a  female 
figure  in  Avild  attire  waving  signals  from  the 
strand.  Thus  at  length  was  Marguerite  rescued 
and  restored  to  her  native  France,  where,  a  few 
yeai-s  later,  the  cosmographer  Thevet  met  her  at 
Natron  in  Perigord,  and  heard  the  tale  of  wonder 
Ironi  her  own  lips.^ 

J  Tlie  story  is  taken  from  the  curious  manuscript  of  1586.  Compare 
the  Cosmoiiraphw  of  Thevet  (157.')),  II.  c.  6.  Thevet  was  the  personal 
friend  both  of  Cartier  and  of  Roberval,  the  latter  of  whom  he  calls 
"  mon  faniilicr,"  and  the  former,  "  mou  grand  et  singulier  amy."  He 
says  tii.1t  he  lived  five  montlis  with  Cartier  in  his  house  at  St.  jMalo. 
He  was  .also  a  friend  of  Kabelais,  who  once,  in  Italy,  rescued  him  from 
a  serious  emhjirrassment.  See  the  Notice  Bio(iraphique  prefixed  to  the 
eilition  of  Kabelais  of  Burgaud  ties  Marets  and  Rathery.    The  story  of 


1542.]  ROBERVAL  AT  CAP  ROUGE.  47 

Having  left  his  offending  niece  to  the  devils  and 
bears  of  the  Isles  of  Demons,  Roberval  held  his  course 
up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  dropped  anchor  before  the 
heiglits  of  Caj)  Rouge.  His  company  landed;  there 
were  bivouacs  along  the  strand,  a  hubbub  of  pick  and 
spade,  axe,  saw,  and  hammer;  and  soon  in  the  wil- 
derness uprose  a  goodly  structure,  half  barrack,  half 
castle,  with  two  towers,  two  spacious  halls,  a  kitchen, 
chambers,  store-rooms,  workshops,  cellars,  garrets,  a 
well,  an  oven,  and  two  water-mills.  Roberval  named 
it  France-Roy,  and  it  stood  on  that  bold  acclivity 
where  Cartier  had  before  intrenched  himself,  the  St. 
Lawrence  in  front,  and  on  the  right  the  River  of  Cap 
Rouge.  Here  all  the  colony  housed  under  the  same 
roof,  like  one  of  the  experimental  communities  of 
recent  days,  —  officers,  soldiers,  nobles,  artisans, 
laborers,  and  convicts,  vnth  the  women  and  children 
in  whom  lay  the  futm-e  hope  of  New  France. 

Experience  and  forecast  had  both  been  wanting. 
There  were  storehouses,  but  no  stores ;  mills,  but  no 
grist;  an  ample  oven,  and  a  dearth  of  bread.  It  was 
only  when  two  of  the  sliips  had  sailed  for  France  that 
they  took  account  of  their  provision  and  discovered 
its  lamentable  shortcoming.  Winter  and  famine  fol- 
lowed.    They  bouglit  fish  from  the  Indians,  and  dug 

Marguerite  is  also  told  in  the  ITeptameron.  of  Marguerite  de  Valois, 
sister  of  Francis  I.  (1559). 

lu  the  Routier  of  Jeau  Alplionse,  Roberval's  pilot,  where  the  princi- 
pal poiuts  of  the  voyage  are  set  down,  repeated  mention  is  made  of 
"  les  Isles  de  la  Demoiselle,"  immediately  north  of  Newfoundland.  The 
iufereuce  is  obvious  that  tlie  demoiselle  was  Marguerite. 


48  EARLY  FRENCH   ADVENTURE.  [1543. 

roots  and  boiled  tlieiii  in  wliale-oil.  Disease  broke 
on(,  iiiid,  iK'forc  spring,  killed  one  third  of  the  colony. 
The  rest  would  have  quarrelled,  mutinied,  and  other- 
wise aggravated  their  inevitable  woes,  but  disorder 
was  dangerous  under  the  iron  rule  of  the  inexorable 
Roberval.  Michel  Gaillon  was  detected  in  a  petty 
theft,  and  hanged.  Jean  de  Nantes,  for  a  more 
venial  offence,  was  kept  in  irons.  The  quarrels  of 
men  and  the  scolding  of  women  were  alike  requited 
at  the  whipping-post,  "by  which  means,"  quaintly 
says  the  narrative,   "they  lived   in  peace." 

Thevet,  while  calling  himself  the  intimate  friend 
of  the  Viceroy,  gives  a  darker  coloring  to  his  story. 
He  says  that,  forced  to  unceasing  labor,  and  chafed 
by  arbitrary  rules,  some  of  the  soldiers  fell  under 
Roberval* s  displeasure,  and  six  of  them,  formerly  his 
favorites,  were  hanged  in  one  day.  Others  were 
banished  to  an  island,  and  there  kept  in  fetters; 
wliile,  for  various  light  offences,  several,  both  men 
and  women,  were  shot.  Even  the  Indians  were 
moved  to  pity,  and  wept  at  the  sight  of  their  woes.^ 

And  here,  midway,  our  guide  deserts  us;  the 
ancient  narrative  is  broken,  and  the  latter  part  is  lost, 
leaving  us  to  divine  as  we  may  the  futui-e  of  the  ill- 
sUirred  colony.  That  it  did  not  long  survive  is  cer- 
tain. The  King,  in  great  need  of  Roberval,  sent 
Cartier  to  bring  him  home,  and  tliis  voyage  seems  to 
have  taken  place  in  the  summer  of  1543.2  It  is  said 
that,  in  after  yeai-s,  the  Viceroy  essayed  to  repossess 
»  Thevet  IMS.  (1586).  2  Lescarbot  (1612),  I.  416. 


1543.]  DEATH  OF  ROBERVAL.  49 

himself  of  his  Transatlantic  domain,  and  lost  his  life 
in  the  attemj^t.^  The  vet,  on  the  other  hand,  with 
ample  means  of  learning  the  truth,  affirms  that 
Roberval  was  slain  at  night,  near  the  Church  of  the 
Innocents,  in  the  heart  of  Paris. 

With  him  closes  the  prelude  of  the  French- Ameri- 
can drama.  Tempestuous  years  and  a  reign  of  blood 
and  fire  were  in  store  for  France.  The  religious  wars 
begot  the  hapless  colony  of  Florida,  but  for  more 
than  half  a  century  they  left  New  France  a  desert. 
Order  rose  at  length  out  of  the  sanguinary  chaos ;  the 
zeal  of  discovery  and  the  spirit  of  commercial  enter- 
prise once  more  awoke,  while,  closely  following,  more 
potent  than  they,  moved  the  black-robed  forces  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  reaction. 

1  Le  Clerc,  ^tablissement  de  la  Foij,  I.  14 


Note.  —  The  Voyage  of  Verrazzano.  The  narrative  of  the  voyage 
of  Verrazzano  is  contained  in  a  letter  from  him,  dated  at  Dieppe,  8  July, 
ir324.  The  original  letter  does  not  exist.  An  Italian  translation  was 
printed  by  Ramusio  in  1556,  and  there  is  another  translation  in  the 
Magliahecchian  Library  at  Florence.  This  last  is  accompanied  by  a 
letter  concerning  the  voyage  from  one  Fernando  Carli,  dated  at  Lyons, 
4  August,  1524.  Ilierouinio  da  Verrazzano,  brother  of  the  navigator, 
made  in  1529  a  large  map  of  the  world,  which  is  preserved  in  the  Col- 
lege of  the  Propaganda  at  Rome.  The  discoveries  of  Verrazzano  are 
laid  Aovnx  upon  it,  and  the  North  American  part  bears  the  inscription, 
"  Vcrazzana  sive  nova  Gallia  quale  discopri  5  anni  fa  Giovanni  da  Ver- 
azzano  florentino  per  ordine  e  Comandamento  del  Cristianissimo  Re 
di  Francia."  A  copper  globe  made  by  Euphrosynus  Ulpius,  in  1542, 
also  affirms  the  discovery  of  Verrazzano,  and  gives  his  name  to  a  part 
of  the  continent,  while  other  contemporary  maps,  notably  that  of  Vi.s- 
coute  di  Maiollo,  1527,  also  contain  traces  of  his  voyage.  Ramusio 
says  that  he  had  conversed  with  many  persons  who  knew  Verrazzano, 

VOL.    II.  — 4 


50  EARLY  FRENCH  ADVENTURE.  [1542. 

iiii.l  lie  jiriiits  a  ii;ii)fr  railed  Discorso  d'  un  gran  Capitano  di  Mare 
Fiaiinse,  in  which  the  voyage  of  Verrazzano  is  mentioned  by  a  con- 
U'liiporary  navif^ator  of  Dieppe. 

Various  Spanish  and  Portuguese  documents  attest  the  exploits  of 
Verrazzano  as  a  corsair,  and  a  letter  of  Silveira,  Portuguese  ambassa- 
dor to  P'rance,  shows  that  in  the  spring  of  1523  he  had  announced  his 
purpose  of  a  voyage  to  "Cathay."  On  the  eleventh  of  May,  152G,  he 
gave  a  power  of  attorney  to  his  brother  Ilieronimo,  the  maker  of  the 
map,  and  this  paper  still  exists,  bearing  his  autograph.  Various  other 
original  jtapcrs  relating  to  him  are  extant,  one  of  the  most  curious 
being  that  of  the  judge  of  Cadiz,  testifying  to  his  capture  and  his  exe- 
cution at  Puerto  del  Pico.  None  of  the  early  writers  question  the 
reality  of  the  voyage.  Among  those  who  affirm  it  may  be  mentioned 
Annibal  Caro,  1537  ;  Belleforest,  1570;  Herrera,  1601 ;  Wytfleit,  1603  ; 
De  Laet,  1603;  Lescarbot,  1612. 

In  1864,  Mr.  Buckingham  Smith  questioned  the  genuineness  of  the 
Verrazzano  letter  in  a  pamphlet  called,  An  Inquiry  into  the  Authenticity 
of  Documents  concerning  a  Discovery  in  North  America  claimed  to  have 
been  made  by  Verrazzano.  Mr.  J.  Carson  Brevoort  answered  him,  in  a 
book  entitled  Verrazzano  the  Navigator.  Mr.  Henry  C.  Murphy  fol- 
lowed with  another  book.  The  Voyage  of  Verrazzano,  in  which  he  en- 
deavored at  great  length  to  prove  that  the  evidence  concerning  the 
voyage  was  fabricated.  Mr.  Henry  Harrisse  gave  a  cautious  and 
(|ualified  support  to  his  views  in  the  Revue  Critique.  Mr.  Major  an- 
swered them  in  the  London  Geographical  Magazine,  and  Mr.  De  Costa 
niaile  an  elaborate  and  effective  reply  in  his  work  called  Verrazzano  the 
Explorer.  An  Italian  writer,  Signor  Desimoni,  has  added  some  cogent 
facts  in  support  of  the  authenticity  of  the  documents.  A  careful  ex- 
amination of  these  various  writings  convinces  me  that  the  evidence  in 
favor  of  the  voyage  of  Verrazzano  is  far  stronger  than  the  evidence 
against  it.  Abb<?  Verreau  found  a  contemporary  document  in  the 
Riblioth^que  Natiouale,  in  which  it  is  mentioned  that  the  "  memoirs '' 
of  Verrazzano  were  then  in  possession  of  Chatillon  (Admiral  Coligny). 
See  Report  on  Canadian  Archives,  1874,  p.  190. 


CHAPTER   II. 
1542-1G04. 

LA  ROCHE.  — CIIAMPLAIN.  —  DE  MONTS. 

French  Fishermen  and  Fur-Traders.  —  La  Roche.  —  The  Con- 
victs OF  Sable  Island.  —  Tauoussac.  —  Samoel  de  Cham- 
plain. —  Visits  the  West  Indies  and  Mexico.  —  Explores  the 
St.  Lawrence. — De  Monts.  —  IIis  Acadian  Schemes. 

Years  rolled  on.  France,  long  tossed  among  the 
surges  of  civil  commotion,  plunged  at  last  into  a  gulf 
of  fratricidal  war.  Blazing  hamlets,  sacked  cities, 
fields  steaming  with  slaughter,  profaned  altars,  and 
ravished  maidens,  marked  the  track  of  the  tornado. 
There  was  little  room  for  schemes  of  foreign  enter- 
prise. Yet,  far  aloof  from  siege  and  battle,  the  fisher- 
men of  the  western  ports  still  plied  their  craft  on 
the  Banks  of  Newfoundland.  Humanity,  morality, 
decency,  might  be  forgotten,  ])vit  codfish  must  still 
be  had  for  the  use  of  the  faithful  in  Lent  and  on  fast 
days.  Still  the  wandering  Esquimaux  saw  the 
Norman  and  Breton  sails  hovering  around  some 
lonely  headland,  or  anchored  in  fleets  in  the  harbor 
of  St.  John;  and  still,  tlirough  salt  spray  and  driv- 
ing mist,  the  fishermen  dragged  up  the  riches  of 
the  sea. 


r)2    LA    ROCHE.  — oil AMPLAIN.—  DE   MONTS.     [1586. 

In  January  and  Fel)maiy,  1545,  about  two  vessels 
ji  day  sailed  from  French  ports  for  Newfoundland. i 
In  1505,  Pedro  Menendez  complains  that  the  French 
"rule  despotically"  in  those  parts.  In  1578,  there 
were  a  hundred  and  fifty  French  fishing-vessels 
there,  besides  two  hundred  of  other  nations,  Sj)an- 
ish,  Portuguese,  and  English.  Added  to  these 
were  twenty  or  thirty  Biscayan  whalers. ^  In  1607, 
there  was  an  old  French  fislierman  at  Canseau  who 
had  voyaged  to  these  seas  for  forty-two  successive 
years.  3 

But  if  the  wilderness  of  ocean  had  its  treasures,  so 
too  had  the  wilderness  of  woods.  It  needed  but  a 
few  knives,  beads,  and  trinkets,  and  the  Indians 
would  throng  to  the  shore  burdened  with  the  spoils 
of  their  mnter  hunting.  Fishermen  threw  up  their 
old  vocation  for  the  more  lucrative  trade  in  bear-skins 
and  beaver-skins.  They  built  rude  huts  along  the 
shores  of  Anticosti,  where,  at  that  day,  the  bison,  it 
is  said,  could  be  seen  wallo^ving  in  the  sands.*  They 
outraged   the   Indians;    they   quarrelled   Avith    each 

^  Gosselin,  Documents  Authentiques. 

-  IIaklu)-t,  III.  132.  Comp.  Pinkerton,  Voyages,  XII.  174,  and 
Thevet  MS.  (1586). 

3  Lescarbot,  II.  605.     Purchas's  date  is  wrong. 

*  Thevet  MS.  (1586).  Thevet  says  that  he  had  himself  seen  them. 
Perhaps  he  confounds  them  with  the  moose. 

In  1565,  and  for  some  years  previous,  bisou-skins  were  brought  by 
the  Indians  down  the  Potomac,  and  thence  carried  along-shore  in 
canoes  to  the  French  about  tlie  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  During  two 
years,  six  thousand  skins  were  thus  obtained.  Letters  of  Pedro 
Menendez  to  Philip  II.,  MS. 

On  the  fur-trade,  see  Hakluyt,  III.  187,  193,  233,  292,  etc. 


1588.]  MARQUIS  DE  LA   ROCHE.  53 

other;  and  this  infancy  of  the  Canadian  fiir-trade 
showed  rich  promise  of  the  disorders  which  marked 
its  riper  growth.  Others,  meanwhile,  were  ranging 
the  gulf  in  search  of  walrus  tusks;  and,  the  year 
after  the  battle  of  Ivry,  St.  Malo  sent  out  a  fleet  of 
small  craft  in  quest  of  this  new  prize. 

In  all  the  western  seaports,  merchants  and  adven- 
turers turned  their  eyes  towards  America;  not,  like 
the  Spaniards,  seeking  treasures  of  silver  and  gold, 
but  the  more  modest  gains  of  codfish  and  train-oil, 
beaver-skins  and  marine  ivory.  St.  Malo  was  con- 
spicuous above  them  all.  Tlie  rugged  Bretons  loved 
the  perils  of  the  sea,  and  saw  with  a  jealous  eye  every 
attempt  to  shackle  their  activity  on  this  its  favorite 
field.  When  in  1588  Jacques  Noel  and  Estienne 
Chaton  —  the  former  a  nephew  of  Cartier  and  the 
latter  pretending  to  be  so  —  gained  a  monopoly  of 
the  American  fur-trade  for  tAvelve  years,  such  a 
clamor  arose  within  the  walls  of  St.  Malo  that  the 
obnoxious  grant  was  promptly  revoked.  ^ 

But  soon  a  power  was  in  the  field  against  which 
all  St.  Malo  might  clamor  in  vain.  A  Catholic  noble- 
man of  Brittany,  the  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  bargained 
with  the  King  to  colonize  New  France.  On  his 
part,  he  was  to  receive  a  monopoly  of  the  trade,  and 
a  profusion  of  worthless  titles  and  empty  privileges. 
He  was  declared  Lieutenant-General  of  Canada, 
Hochelaga,  Newfoundland,  Labrador,  and  the  coun- 

1  Lescarbot,  I.  418.  Compare  Ramc?,  Documents  Inedits  (1865).  In 
Hakluyt  are  two  letters  of  Jacques  Noel. 


r,4     LA    llOCIIi:.  — CIIAMPLAIN.  — DE  MONTS.     [1588. 

trios  adjacent,  with  sovereign  power  within  his  vast 
and  ill-defined  domain.  He  couhl  levy  troops,  declare 
war  and  peace,  make  laws,  punish  or  pardon  at  ^^^ll, 
build  cities,  forts,  and  castles,  and  grant  out  lands  in 
fiefs,  seigniories,  counties,  viscounties,  and  baronies.^ 
Til  I  IS  was  effete  and  cumbrous  feudalism  to  make  a 
lodgement  in  the  New  World.  It  was  a  scheme  of 
high-sounding  promise,  but  in  performance  less  than 
contemptible.  La  Roche  ransacked  the  prisons, 
and,  gathering  thence  a  gang  of  thieves  and  despera- 
does, embarked  them  in  a  small  vessel,  and  set  sail 
to  plant  Cluistianity  and  civilization  in  the  West. 
Suns  rose  and  set,  and  the  wi'etched  bark,  deep 
freighted  with  brutality  and  vice,  held  on  her 
coui"se.  She  was  so  small  that  the  convicts,  leaning 
over  her  side,  could  wash  their  hands  in  the 
water.2  At  length,  on  the  gray  horizon  they 
descried  a  long,  gray  line  of  ridgy  sand.  It  was 
Sable  Island,  off  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  A 
wreck  lay  stranded  on  the  beach,  and  the  surf 
broke  ominously  over  the  long,  submerged  arms  of 
sand,  stretched  far  out  mto  the  sea  on  the  right 
hand  and  on  the  left. 

Here  La  Roche  landed  the  comdcts,  forty  in  num- 

1  Lfttrps  Patentes  pour  le  Sieur  de  la  Roche,  12  Jan.,  1598  ;  Lescarbot, 
I.  422 ;  ?^,i;ts  ft  Ordonnances  (Quebec,  1804),  II.  4.  La  Roche  had  re- 
ceived a  similar  commission  in  1.577  and  1578,  but  seems  to  have  made 
no  use  of  it.  Rame,  Documents  Inedits  (1867).  There  is  evidence  that, 
as  early  as  1564,  the  King  designed  an  expedition  to  colonize  Canada. 
See  GosseliD,  Documents  Inedits  pour  servtr  a  I'Hhtoire  de  la  Marine 
Normande. 

•  Lescarbot,  I.  421. 


1603.]         THE   CON\aCTS   OF   SABLE   ISLAND.  55 

ber,  while,  with  his  more  trusty  followers,  he  sailed 
to  explore  the  neighboring  coasts,  and  choose  a  site 
for  the  capital  of  his  new  dominion,  to  which,  in  due 
time,  he  proposed  to  remove  the  prisoners.  But  sud- 
denly a  tempest  from  the  west  assailed  him.  The 
frail  vessel  was  forced  to  run  before  the  gale,  which, 
howling  on  her  track,  drove  her  off  the  coast,  and 
chased  her  back  towards  France. 

Meanwhile  the  convicts  watched  in  suspense  for 
the  returning  sail.  Days  passed,  weeks  passed,  and 
still  they  strained  their  eyes  in  vain  across  the  waste 
of  ocean.  La  Roche  had  left  them  to  their  fate. 
Rueful  and  desperate,  they  wandered  among  the  sand- 
hills, tlu'ough  the  stunted  whortleberry  bushes,  the 
rank  sand-grass,  and  the  tangled  cranberry  vines 
which  filled  the  hollows.  Not  a  tree  was  to  be  seen; 
but  they  built  huts  of  the  fragments  of  the  wreck. 
For  food  they  caught  fish  in  the  surrounding  sea,  and 
hunted  the  cattle  which  ran  wild  about  the  island,  — 
sprung,  perhaps,  from  those  left  here  eighty  years 
before  by  the  Baron  de  Ldry.^  They  killed  seals, 
trapped  black  foxes,  and  clothed  themselves  in  their 
skins.  Their  native  instincts  clung  to  them  in  their 
exile.  As  if  not  content  with  inevitable  miseries, 
they  quarrelled  and  murdered  one  another.  Season 
after  season  dragged  on.  Five  years  elapsed,  and,  of 
the  forty,  only  twelve  were  left  alive.     Sand,  sea, 

*  Lescarbot,  I.  22.  Compare  De  Laet,  Lib.  II.  c.  4.  Charlevoix 
and  Champlaln  say  that  they  escaped  from  tlie  wreck  of  a  Spanish 
ressel;  Purchas,  that  they  were  left  by  the  Tortuguese. 


.^fl    LA    KOCIIE.— CIIAMPLAIN.  — I)E   MONTS.     [1603. 

j^,„[  sky,  —  there  was  little  else  around  them;  though, 
to  hreak  the  dead  monotony,  the  walrus  would  some- 
tinu's  rear  his  half-human  face  and  glistening  sides 
on  the  reefs  and  sand-bars.  At  length,  on  the  far 
verge  of  the  watery  desert,  they  descried  a  sail.  She 
stood  on  towards  the  island;  a  boat's  crew  landed  on 
the  beach,  and  the  exiles  were  once  more  among  their 
countrymen. 

When  La  Roche  returned  to  France,  the  fate  of 
his  followers  sat  heavy  on  his  mind.  But  the  day  of 
his  prosperity  was  gone.  A  host  of  enemies  rose 
against  him  and  his  privileges,  and  it  is  said  that  the 
Due  de  Mercoeur  seized  him  and  threw  him  into 
prison.  In  time,  however,  he  gained  a  hearing  of 
the  King;  and  the  Norman  pilot,  ChefdhStel,  was 
despatched  to  bring  the  outcasts  home. 

He  reached  Sable  Island  in  September,  1603,  and 
brought  back  to  France  eleven  survivors,  whose 
names  are  still  preserved. ^  When  they  arrived, 
Henry  the  Fourth  summoned  them  into  his  presence. 
They  stood  before  liim,  says  an  old  writer,  lite  river- 
gods  of  yore ;  "^  for  from  head  to  foot  they  were  clothed 
in  shaggy  skins,  and  beards  of  prodigious  length 
hung  from  their  swarthy  faces.  They  had  accumu- 
lated, on  their  island,  a  quantity  of  valuable  furs. 
Of  these  Chefdhotel  had  robbed  them;  but  the  pilot 
was  forced  to  disgorge  his  prey,  and,  with  the  aid  of 
a  bount}'  from  the  King,  they  were  enabled  to  embark 

*  Gosselin,  Documents  Authentiques  (Rouen,  1876). 

'  Charlevoix,  I.  110;  Guerin,  Navigateurs  Fianfais,  2\0. 


1603]  PONTGRAV^  AND  CHAUVIN.  57 

on  their  own  account  in  the  Canadian  trade. ^  To 
their  leader,  fortune  was  less  kind.  Broken  by  dis- 
aster and  imprisonment,  La  Roche  died  miserably. 

In  the  mean  time,  on  the  ruin  of  his  enterprise,  a 
new  one  had  been  begun.  Pontgrav^,  a  merchant  of 
St.  Malo,  leagued  himself  with  Chauvin,  a  captain  of 
the  navy,  who  had  influence  at  coui't.  A  patent  was 
granted  to  them,  with  the  condition  that  they  should 
colonize  the  country.  But  their  only  thought  was  to 
enrich  themselves. 

At  Tadoussac,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay,  under 
the  shadow  of  savage  and  inaccessible  rocks,  feathered 
with  pines,  firs,  and  birch-trees,  they  built  a  cluster 
of  wooden  huts  and  store-houses.  Here  they  left 
sixteen  men  to  gather  the  expected  harvest  of  furs. 
Before  the  winter  was  over,  several  of  them  were 
dead,  and  the  rest  scattered  through  the  woods,  liv- 
ing on  the  charity  of  the  Indians. ^ 

But  a  new  era  had  dawned  on  France.  Exhausted 
with  thirty  years  of  conflict,  she  had  sunk  at  last  to 
a  repose,  uneasy  and  disturbed,  yet  the  harbinger  of 

1  Purchas,  IV.  1807.  Before  me  are  several  curious  papers  copied 
from  the  archives  of  the  Palais  de  Justice  of  lloueu.  One  of  these  is 
entitled  Copie  d'lin  Arret  rendu  contra  Chefdhostcl,  27  Nov.,  1603.  It 
orders  him  to  deliver  to  the  eleven  men  whom  he  had  just  hroupjlit 
home  two  thirds  of  their  furs.  Another,  dated  6  March,  1598,  relates 
to  tlic  criminals  whom  La  IJoche  was  empowered  to  take  from  tlie 
prisons.  A  third,  dated  18  May,  ir)'J8,  orders  that  one  of  these  crimi- 
nals, Francois  de  Bauldre,  convicted  of  hif!jhway  robbery,  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  go  to  Canada,  but  shall  bo  forthwith  belieaded.  These  pa- 
pers set  at  rest  the  dis])uted  question  of  the  date  of  La  Roche's  voyage. 
I  owe  them  to  the  kindness  of  M.  Gabriel  Gravier,  of  Rouen. 

2  Champlain  (1632),  34;  Estancclin,  96. 


r.S    [.A    liocili:.  — CHAMPLAIN.  —  DE   MONTS.     [1003. 

iccovcry.  The  niffged  soldier  whom,  for  the  weal 
(.r  Kriince  uiid  of  iiianlcind,  Providence  had  cast  to 
the  trouhh'd  surface  of  affairs,  was  throned  in  the 
Louvre,  composing  the  strife  of  factions  and  the 
quarrels  of  his  mistresses.  The  bear-hunting  prince 
of  (lie  Pyrenees  wore  the  crown  of  France;  and  to 
this  (lay,  as  one  gazes  on  the  time-worn  front  of  the 
Tuileries,  fibove  all  other  memories  rises  the  small, 
strong  finger,  the  brow  wrinkled  with  cares  of  love 
and  war,  the  bristling  moustache,  the  grizzled  beard, 
the  bold,  ^^gorous,  and  withal  somewhat  odd  features 
of  the  mountaineer  of  B^arn.  To  few  has  human 
liberty  owed  so  deep  a  gratitude  or  so  deep  a  grudge. 
lie  cared  little  for  creeds  or  dogmas.  Impressible, 
quick  in  sympathy,  his  grim  lip  lighted  often  with  a 
smile,  and  his  war-worn  cheek  was  no  stranger  to  a 
tear.  He  forgave  his  enemies  and  forgot  his  friends. 
Many  loved  him;  none  but  fools  trusted  him.  jNIin- 
gled  of  mortal  good  and  ill,  frailty  and  force,  of  all 
the  kings  who  for  two  centuries  and  more  sat  on  the 
throne  of  France  Henry  the  Fourth  alone  was  a 
man. 

Art,  industiy,  and  commerce,  so  long  crushed  and 
overborne,  were  stirring  into  renewed  life,  and  a 
crowd  of  adventurous  men,  nurtured  in  war  and 
incapable  of  repose,  must  seek  emplo^-ment  for  their 
restless  energies  in  fields  of  peaceful  enterprise. 

Two  small,  quaint  vessels,  not  larger  than  the  fish- 
ing-cnift  of  Gloucester  and  ]Marblehead,  —  one  was 
of  twelve,  the  other  of  fifteen  tons,  —  held  their  way 


1598]  SAMUEL   DE   CIIAMPLAIN.  59 

across  the  Atlantic,  passed  the  tempestuous  head- 
lands of  Newfoundland  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  and, 
with  adventurous  knight-errantry,  glided  deep  into 
the  heart  of  the  Canadian  wilderness.  On  board  of 
one  of  them  was  the  Breton  merchant,  Pontgrav^, 
and  with  him  a  man  of  spirit  widely  different,  a 
Catholic  of  good  family,  —  Samuel  de  Champlain, 
born  in  1567  at  the  small  seaport  of  Brouage  on  the 
Bay  of  Biscay.  Plis  father  was  a  captain  in  the 
royal  navy,  where  he  himself  seems  also  to  have 
served,  though  during  the  war  he  had  fought  for  the 
King  in  Brittany,  under  the  banners  of  D'Aumont, 
St.  Luc,  and  Brissac.  His  purse  was  small,  his 
merit  great;  and  Henry  the  Fourth  out  of  his  own 
slender  revenues  had  given  him  a  pension  to  maintain 
him  near  his  person.  But  rest  was  penance  to  him. 
The  war  in  Brittau}^  was  over.  The  rebellious  Due 
de  Mercosur  was  reduced  to  obedience,  and  the  royal 
arm}^  disbanded.  Champlain,  his  occupation  gone, 
conceived  a  design  consonant  with  his  adventurous 
nature.  He  would  visit  the  West  Indies,  and  bring 
back  to  the  King  a  report  of  those  regions  of  mystery 
whence  Spanish  jealousy  excluded  foreigners,  and 
where  every  intruding  Frenchman  was  threatened 
with  death.  Here  much  knowledge  was  to  be  won 
and  much  peril  to  be  met.  The  joint  attraction  was 
resistless. 

The  Spaniards,  allies  of  the  vanquished  Leaguers, 
were  about  to  evacuate  Blavet,  their  last  stronghold 
in  Brittany.     Thither  Champlain  repaired;  and  here 


Cd     I. A    KOCIIK.-CIIAMPLAIN.-DE   MONTS.     [1598. 

lie  found  an  uncle,  who  had  charge  of  the  French 
fleet  destined  to  take  on  board  the  Spanish  garrison. 
Chaniphiin  emlmrkcd  with  them,  and,  reaching  Cadiz, 
succeeded,  with  the  aid  oi.  his  relative,  who  had  just 
accepted  the  post  of  Pilot-General  of  the  Spanish 
luMiinc,  in  gaining  command  of  one  of  the  ships  about 
to  sail  for  the  West  Indies  under  Don  Francisco 
Colombo. 

At  Dieppe  there  is  a  curious  old  manuscript,  in 
clear,  decisive,  and  somewhat  formal  handwriting  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  garnished  with  sixty-one 
colored  pictures,  in  a  style  of  art  which  a  child  of  ten 
might  emulate.  Here  one  may  see  ports,  harbors, 
islands,  and  rivers,  adorned  with  portraitures  of 
birds,  beasts,  and  fishes  thereto  pertaining.  Here 
are  Indian  feasts  and  dances;  Indians  flogged  by 
priests  for  not  going  to  mass;  Indians  burned  alive 
for  heresy,  six  in  one  fire ;  Indians  working  the  silver 
mines.  Here,  too,  are  descriptions  of  natural  objects, 
each  with  its  illustrative  sketch,  some  drawn  from 
life  and  some  from  memory, — as,  for  example,  a 
chameleon  with  two  legs ;  others  from  hearsay,  among 
which  is  the  portrait  of  the  griffin  said  to  haunt  cer- 
tain districts  of  Mexico,  —  a  monster  with  the  wings 
of  a  bat,  the  head  of  an  eagle,  and  the  tail  of  an 
alligator. 

This  is  Champlain's  journal,  written  and  illustrated 
by  his  own  hand,  in  that  defiance  of  perspective  and 
ahsolute  independence  of  the  canons  of  art  which 
mark  the  earliest  efforts  of  the  pencil. 


1600-1603.]  CHAMPLAIN  IN  THE   WEST  INDIES.     61 

A  true  hero,  after  the  chivalrous  mediaeval  type, 
his  character  was  clashed  largely  "with  the  spirit  of 
romance.  Though  earnest,  sagacious,  and  penetrat- 
ing, he  leaned  to  the  marvellous ;  and  the  faith  which 
was  the  life  of  his  hard  career  was  somewhat  prone 
to  overstep  the  bounds  of  reason  and  invade  the 
domain  of  fancy.  Hence  the  erratic  character  of 
some  of  his  exploits,  and  hence  his  simple  faith  in 
the  Mexican  griffin. 

His  West-Indian  adventure  occupied  him  more 
than  two  years.  He  visited  the  principal  ports  of  the 
islands,  made  plans  and  sketches  of  them  all,  after 
his  fashion,  and  then,  landing  at  Vera  Cruz,  jour- 
neyed inland  to  the  city  of  Mexico.  On  his  return 
he  made  his  way  to  Panama.  Here,  more  than  two 
centuries  and  a  half  ago,  his  Ijold  and  active  mind 
conceived  the  plan  of  a  ship-canal  across  the  isthmus, 
"by  which,"  he  says,  "the  voyage  to  the  South  Sea 
would  be  shortened  by  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
leagues."^ 

1  ".  .  .  Ton  accourciroit  par  ainsy  le  chemin  de  plus  de  1500lieues, 
et  depuis  Panama  jusques  an  destroit  de  Magellan  se  seroit  une  isle,  et 
de  Panama  jusques  aux  Terres  Neufves  une  autre  isle,"  etc.  —  Cham- 
plain,  Bref  iJiscours.  A  Biscayan  pilot  had  before  suggested  the  plan 
to  the  Spanish  government;  but  Philip  the  Second,  probably  in  tlie 
interest  of  certain  monopolies,  forbade  the  subject  to  be  again  brought 
forward  on  pain  of  death. 

The  journal  is  entitled,  "  Rref  Discours  des  Choses  plus  Kemar- 
quables  que  Samuel  Champlain  de  Brouage  a  recognues  aux  Indes  ( )('ci- 
deutales."  The  original  manuscript,  in  Champlain's  handwriting,  is, 
or  was,  in  the  hands  of  M.  Fcret  of  Diej)])o,  a  collateral  descendant  uf 
the  writer's  patron,  the  Commander  de  Chastes.     It  consists  of  a  huu- 


r)2    LA    KOCIIK.  —  CIIAMPLATN.  —  DE   MOXTS.    [1603. 

On  reaching  France  he  repaired  to  court,  and  it 
may  liavc  l)een  at  this  time  that  a  royal  patent  raised 
him  to  the  rank  of  the  untitled  nobility.  He  soon 
wearied  of  the  antechambers  of  the  Louvre.  It  was 
h(M'e,  however,  that  his  destiny  awaited  him,  and  the 
work  of  his  life  was  unfolded.  Aymar  de  Chastes, 
Commander  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  and  Governor 
of  Dieppe,  a  gray-haired  veteran  of  the  civil  wars, 
wished  to  mark  his  closing  days  with  some  notable 
achievement  for  France  and  the  Church.  To  no  man 
was  the  King  more  deeply  indebted.  In  his  darkest 
lioiir,  when  the  hosts  of  the  League  were  gathering 
round  liim,  when  friends  were  falling  off,  and  the 
Parisians,  exulting  in  his  certain  ruin,  were  hiring 
the  windows  of  the  Rue  St.  Antoine  to  see  him  led 
to  the  Bastille,  De  Chastes,  without  condition  or 
reserve,  gave  up  to  him  the  town  and  castle  of  Dieppe. 
Thus  he  was  enabled  to  fight  beneath  its  walls  the 
battle  of  Arques,  the  first  in  the  series  of  successes 
which  secured  his  triumph ;  and  he  had  been  heard  to 
say  that  to  this  friend  in  his  adversity  he  owed  his 
own  salvation  and  that  of  France. 

De  Chastes  was  one  of  those  men  who,  amid  the 

strife  of  factions  and  rage  of  rival  fanaticisms,  make 

reason  and  patriotism  their  watchwords,  and  stand 

on  the  firm  ground  of  a  strong  and  resolute  modera- 

dred  aud  fifteen  small  quarto  pages.     I  am  indebted  to  M.  Jacques 
Viger  for  the  use  of  his  copy. 

A  translation  of  it  was  published  in  1859  by  the  Hakluyt  Society, 
with  notes  and  a  biographical  notice  by  no  means  remarkable  for 
accuracy. 


1603.]  DE   CHASTES   AND   CIIA.MPLAIX.  63 

tion.  He  had  resisted  the  madness  of  Leaguer  and 
Huguenot  alike;  yet,  though  a  foe  of  the  League, 
the  old  soldier  was  a  devout  Catholic,  and  it  seemed 
in  his  eyes  a  noble  consummation  of  his  life  to  plant 
the  cross  and  the  fleur-de-lis  in  the  wilderness  of 
New  France.  Chauvin  had  just  died,  after  wasting 
the  lives  of  a  score  or  more  of  men  in  a  second  and  a 
tliird  attempt  to  establish  the  fur-trade  at  Tadoussao. 
De  Chastes  came  to  court  to  beg  a  patent  of  Henry 
the  Fourth;  "and,"  says  liis  friend  Chamjjlain, 
"though  his  head  was  crowned  mth  gray  hairs  as 
with  yeai-s,  he  regolved  to  proceed  to  New  France  in 
person,  and  dedicate  the  rest  of  Ms  days  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God  and  his  King."^ 

The  patent,  costing  notliing,  was  readily  granted , 
and  De  Chastes,  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  enter- 
prise, and  forestall  the  jealousies  wliicli  his  monopoly 
would  awaken  among  the  keen  merchants  of  the 
western  ports,  formed  a  company  vnth.  the  more 
prominent  of  them.  Pontgrav^,  Avho  had  some 
knowledge  of  the  country,  was  chosen  to  make  a 
preliminary  exploration. 

This  was  the  time  when  Champlain,  fresh  from  the 
West  Indies,  appeared  at  coiu-t.  De  Chastes  knew 
him  well.  Young,  ardent,  yet  ripe  in  experience,  a 
skilfid  seaman  and  a  practised  soldier,  he  above  all 
others  was  a  man  for  the  enterprise.  He  had  many 
conferences  with  the  veteran,  under  whom  he  had 
served  in  the  royal  fleet  off  the  coast  of  Brittany. 

*  On  De  Chastes,  Vitet,  Histolre  de  Duppe,  c.  19,  20,  21. 


r,l    l,A    KOCHK.— CIIAMPLAIN.  — DE  MONTS.    [1G03. 

De  Cliastes  urged  liim  to  accept  a  post  in  his  new 
conipaiiy;  and  Chaniplain,  nothing  loath,  consented, 
j)rovi(U'd  always  that  permission  sliould  be  had  from 
the  King,  "to  whom,"  he  says,  "I  was  bound  no  less 
by  birth  than  by  the  pension  with  whicli  his  Majesty 
honored  me."  To  the  King,  therefore,  De  Chastes 
repaired.  The  needful  consent  was  gained,  and, 
;inned  Avith  a  letter  to  Pontgrav6,  Chaniplain  set  out 
for  Honfleur.  Here  he  found  his  destined  com- 
panion, and  embarking  with  him,  as  we  have  seen, 
they  spread  their  sails  for  the  west. 

Like  specie  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  waters,  the 
two  pygmy  vessels  held  their  course  up  the  lonely 
St.  LaA\Tence.  They  passed  abandoned  Tadoussac, 
the  channel  of  Orleans,  and  the  gleaming  cataract  of 
Montmorenci;  the  tenantless  rock  of  Quebec,  the 
wide  Lake  of  St.  Peter  and  its  crowded  archipelago, 
till  now  the  mountain  reared  before  them  its  rounded 
shoulder  above  the  forest-plain  of  Montreal.  All 
was  solitude.  Hochelaga  had  vanished;  and  of  the 
savage  population  that  Cartier  had  found  here,  sixty- 
eight  yeai-s  before,  no  trace  remained.  In  its  place 
wore  a  few  wandering  Algonquins,  of  different  tongue 
and  lineage.  In  a  skiff,  with  a  few  Indians,  Cham- 
plain  essayed  to  pass  the  rapids  of  St.  Louis.  Oars, 
paddles,  and  poles  alike  proved  vain  against  the 
foaming  surges,  and  he  was  forced  to  return.  On 
the  deck  of  his  vessel,  the  Indians  drew  rude  plans 
of  the  river  above,  with  its  chain  of  rapids,  its  lakes 
and  cataracts;  and  the  baffled  explorer   turned  his 


1604.]  SCHEMES  OF   DE  MONTS.  65 

prow  homeward,  the  objects  of  his  mission  accom- 
plished, but  his  own  adventurous  curiosity  unsated. 
When  the  voyagers  reached  Havre  de  Grace,  a 
grievous  blow  awaited  them.  The  Commander  de 
Chastes  was  dead.^ 

His  mantle  fell  upon  Pierre  du  Guast,  Sieur  de 
Monts,  gentleman  in  ordinary  of  the  King's  chamber, 
and  Governor  of  Pons.  Undaunted  by  the  fate  of 
La  Roche,  this  nobleman  petitioned  the  king  for  leave 
to  colonize  La  Cadie,  or  Acadie,^  a  region  defined  as 
extending  from  the  fortieth  to  the  forty-sixth  degree 
of  north  latitude,  or  from  Philadelphia  to  beyond 
Montreal.  The  King's  minister,  Sully,  as  he  himself 
tells  us,  opposed  the  plan,  on  the  ground  that  the 
colonization  of  this  northern  wilderness  would  never 

1  Cbamplain,  Z)es  .Saia'ayes  (1604).  Champlain's  Indian  informants 
gave  him  very  confused  accounts.  They  indicated  the  Falls  of  Niagara 
as  a  mere  "  rapid."  They  are  laid  down,  however,  in  Champlain's  great 
map  of  1632  with  the  following  note :  "  Sault  d'eau  au  bout  du  Sault 
[Lac]  Sainct  Louis  fort  hault  ou  plusieurs  sortes  de  poissons  desceudans 
s'estourdissent." 

2  This  name  is  not  found  in  any  earlier  public  document.  It  was 
afterwards  restricted  to  the  peninsula  of  Nova  Scotia,  but  the  dispute 
concerning  the  limits  of  Acadia  was  a  proximate  cause  of  the  war  of 
1755. 

The  word  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  Indian  Aquoddiauke,  or 
Aquoddie,  supposed  to  mean  the  fish  called  a  pollock.  The  Bay  of 
Pas.samaquoddy,  "  Great  Pollock  Water,"  if  we  may  accept  the  same 
authority,  derives  its  name  from  the  same  origin.  Potter  in  Historical 
Magazine,  I.  84.  This  derivation  is  doubtful.  The  Micmac  word, 
Quoddy,  Kady,  or  Cadie,  means  simply  a  place  or  region,  and  is  prop- 
erly used  in  conjunction  with  some  other  noun  ;  as,  for  example,  Kata- 
kady,  the  Place  of  Eels,  Snnakady  (Sunacadie),  the  Place  of  Cranberries, 
Pestumoquoddy  (Passamaquoddy),  the  Place  of  Pollocks.  Dawson  and 
Rand,  in  Canadian  Antiquarian  and  Nnmiswatic  Journal. 

VOL.   IL  —  5 


(j(\    LA   UOClli:.— ClIAMPLAIN.— DE   MONTS.     [IGOi 

rcpiiy  the  outlay;  but  De  Monts  gained  his  point. 
Ho  was  made  Lieutenant-General  in  Acadia,  with 
viceregal  powers;  and  withered  Feudalism,  with  her 
antique  forms  and  tinselled  follies,  was  again  to  seek 
a  new  home  among  the  rocks  and  pine-trees  of  Nova 
Scotia.  The  foundation  of  the  enterprise  was  a 
monopoly  of  the  fur-trade,  and  in  its  favor  all  past 
grants  were  unceremoniously  annulled.  St.  Malo, 
Rouen,  Dieppe,  and  Rochelle  greeted  the  announce- 
ment with  unavailing  outcries.  Patents  granted 
and  revoked,  monopolies  decreed  and  extinguished, 
had  involved  the  unhappy  traders  in  ceaseless  em- 
barrassment. De  Monts,  however,  preserved  De 
Chastes's  old  company,  and  enlarged  it,  —  thus 
making  the  chief  malcontents  sharers  in  his  ex- 
clusive rights,  and  converting  them  from  enemies 
into  partners. 

A  clause  in  his  commission  empowered  him  to 
impress  idlere  and  vagabonds  as  material  for  his 
colony,  —  an  ominous  provision  of  wliich  he  largely 
availed  himself.  His  company  was  strangely  incon- 
gruous. The  best  and  the  meanest  of  France  were 
crowded  together  in  his  two  ships.  Here  were 
thieves  and  ruJBfians  dragged  on  board  by  force ;  and 
here  were  many  volunteers  of  condition  and  character, 
with  Baron  de  Poutrincourt  and  the  indefatisfable 
Champlain.  Here,  too,  were  Catholic  priests  and 
Huguenot  ministers;  for,  though  De  Monts  was  a 
Calviuist,  the  Chm-ch,  as  usual,  displayed  her  banner 
in  the  van  of  the  enterprise,  and  he  was  forced  to 


1604.]  DE  MONTS.  67 

promise    that  he   would    cause   the   Indians   to    be 
instructed  in  the  dogmas  of  Rome.^ 

*  Articles  proposez  au  Roy  par  le  Sieur  de  Monts;  Commissions  du 
Roy  et  de  Monseigneur  I' Admiral  au  Sieur  de  Monts ;  Defenses  du  Roy 
Premieres  et  Secondes,  a  tous  ses  subjects,  autres  que  le  Sieur  de  Monts, 
etc.  de  traffiquer,  etc. ;  Declaration  du  Roy ;  Exlraict  des  Registres  de 
Parlement ;  Remontrance  faict  au  Roy  par  le  Sieur  de  Monts;  etc. 


CHAPTER  III. 

1604,  1605. 

ACADIA  OCCUPIED. 

Catholic  and  Calvinist.  —  The  Lost  Priest.  — St.  Croix.— 
Winter  Miseries.  —  Champlain  on  the  Coast  of  New 
England.  —  Port  Royal. 

De  Monts,  -with  one  of  his  vessels,  sailed  from 
Havre  de  Grace  on  the  seventh  of  April,  1604. 
Pontgrav^,  with  stores  for  the  colony,  was  to  follow 
in  a  few  days. 

Scarcely  were  they  at  sea,  when  ministers  and 
priests  fell  first  to  discussion,  then  to  quarrelling, 
then  to  blows.  "  I  have  seen  our  cure  and  the  min- 
ister," says  Champlain,  "fall  to  with  their  fists  on 
questions  of  faith.  I  cannot  say  which  had  the  more 
pluck,  or  which  hit  the  harder;  but  I  know  that  the 
minister  sometimes  complained  to  the  Sieur  de  Monts 
that  he  had  been  beaten.  This  was  their  way  of 
settling  points  of  controversy.  I  leave  you  to  judge 
if  it  was  a  pleasant  thing  to  see."  ^ 

Sagard,  the  Franciscan  friar,  relates  with  horror, 
that,  after  their  destination  was  reached,  a  priest  and 
a  minister  happening  to  die  at  the  same  time,   the 

1  Champlain  (1632),  46. 


1604.]  EXPLORATIONS.  69 

crew  buried  them  hotli  in  one  grave,  to  see  if  they 
would  lie  peaceal)ly  together.  ^ 

De  Monts,  who  had  been  to  the  St.  Lawrence 
with  Chauvin,  and  learned  to  dread  its  rigorous 
winters,  steered  for  a  more  southern,  and,  as  he 
flattered  himself,  a  milder  region.  The  first  land 
seen  was  Cap  la  Heve,  on  the  southern  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia.  Four  days  later,  they  entered  a  small  bay, 
where,  to  their  surprise,  they  saw  a  vessel  lying  at 
anchor.  Here  was  a  piece  of  good  luck.  The 
stranger  was  a  fur-trader,  pursuing  her  traffic  in 
defiance,  or  more  probably  in  ignorance,  of  De 
Monts 's  monopoly.  The  latter,  as  empowered  by  his 
patent,  made  prize  of  ship  and  cargo,  consoling  the 
commander,  one  Rossignol,  by  giving  his  name  to 
the  scene  of  his  misfortune.  It  is  now  called  Liver- 
pool Harbor. 

In  an  adjacent  harbor,  called  by  them  Port  Mouton, 
because  a  sheep  here  leaped  overboard,  they  waited 
nearly  a  month  for  Pontgrav^'s  store-ship.  At 
length,  to  their  great  relief,  she  appeared,  laden  with 
the  spoils  of  four  Basque  fur-traders,  captured  at 
Canseau.  The  supplies  delivered,  Pontgrav^  sailed 
for  Tadoussac  to  trade  with  the  Indians,  while  De 
Monts,  followed  by  his  prize,  proceeded  on  his 
voyage. 

He  doubled  Cape  Sable,  and  entered  St.  Mary's 
Bay,  where  he  lay  two  weeks,  sending  boats'  crews 
to  explore  the  adjacent  coasts.     A  party  one   day 

^  Sagard,  Ilistoire  du  Canada,  9. 


70  ACADIA  OCCUPIED.  [1604. 

went  on  shore  to  stroll  through  the  forest,  and 
among  -them  was  Nicolas  Aubry,  a  priest  from  Paris, 
who,  tiring  of  the  scholastic  haunts  of  the  Rue  de  la 
Sorbonne  and  the  Rue  d'Enfer,  had  persisted,  despite 
the  remonstrance  of  his  friends,  in  joining  the  expe- 
dition. Thirsty  with  a  long  walk,  under  the  sun  of 
June,  through  the  tangled  and  rock-encumbered 
woods,  he  stopped  to  drink  at  a  brook,  laying  his 
sword  beside  him  on  the  grass.  On  rejoining  his 
companions,  he  found  that  he  had  forgotten  it;  and 
turning  back  in  search  of  it,  more  skilled  in  the 
devious  windings  of  the  Quartier  Latin  than  in  the 
intricacies  of  the  Acadian  forest,  he  soon  lost  his 
way.  His  comrades,  alarmed,  waited  for  a  time,  and 
then  ranged  the  woods,  shouting  his  name  to  the 
echoing  solitudes.  Trumpets  were  sounded,  and 
cannon  fired  from  the  ships,  but  the  priest  did  not 
appear.  All  now  looked  askance  on  a  certain  Hugue- 
not, with  whom  Aubry  had  often  quarrelled  on  ques- 
tions of  faith,  and  who  was  now  accused  of  having 
killed  him.  In  vain  he  denied  the  charge.  Aubry 
was  given  up  foT  dead,  and  the  ship  sailed  from  St. 
Mary's  Bay;  while  the  wretched  priest  roamed  to 
and  fro,  famished  and  despairing,  or,  couched  on  the 
rocky  soil,  in  the  troubled  sleep  of  exhaustion, 
dreamed,  perhaps,  as  the  wind  swept  moaning  through 
the  pines,  that  he  heard  once  more  the  organ  roll 
through  the  columned  arches  of  Sainte  Genevieve. 

The  voyagers   proceeded  to  explore   the   Bay   of 
Fundy,  which  De  Monts  called  La  Baye  Francoise. 


1604.]  ANNAPOLIS.  — ST.   CROIX.  71 

Their  first  notable  discovery  was  that  of  Annapolis 
Harbor.  A  small  inlet  invited  them.  They  entered, 
when  suddenly  the  narrow  strait  dilated  into  a  broad 
and  tranquil  basin,  compassed  by  sunny  hills,  wrapped 
in  woodland  verdure,  and  alive  with  waterfalls. 
Poutrincourt  was  delighted  with  the  scene.  The 
fancy  seized  him  of  removing  thither  from  France 
with  his  family ;  and,  to  tliis  end,  he  asked  a  grant 
of  the  place  from  De  Monts,  who  by  his  patent  had 
nearly  half  the  continent  in  his  gift.  The  grant  was 
made,  and  Poutrincourt  called  his  new  domain  Port 
Royal. 

Thence  they  sailed  round  the  head  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  coasted  its  northern  shore,  visited  and  named 
the  river  St.  John,  and  anchored  at  last  in  Passama- 
quoddy  Bay. 

The  untiring  Champlain,  exploring,  survejdng, 
sounding,  had  made  charts  of  all  the  principal  roads 
and  harbors;^  and  now,  pursuing  his  research,  he 
entered  a  river  which  he  calls  La  Riviere  des 
Etechemins,  from  the  name  of  the  tribe  of  whom  the 
present  Passamaquoddy  Indians  are  descendants. 
Near  its  mouth  he  found  an  islet,  fenced  round  with 
rocks  and  shoals,  and  called  it  St.  Croix,  a  name  now 
borne  by  the  river  itself.  With  singular  infelicity 
this  spot  was  chosen  as  the  site  of  the  new  colony. 
It  commanded  the  river,  and  was  well  fitted  for 
defence :  these  were  its  only  merits ;  yet  camion  were 
landed  on  it,  a  battery  was  planted  on  a  detached 

1  See  Champlain,  Voijatjes  (1G13),  where  the  charts  are  published. 


72  ACADIA  OCCUPIED.  [1604. 

rork  at  one  end,  and  a  fort  begun  on  a  rising  ground 
at  the  other.  1 

At  St.  Mary's  Bay  the  voyagers  thought  they  had 
found  tnices  of  iron  and  silver;  and  Champdor^,  the 
pilot,  was  now  sent  back  to  pursue  the  search.  As 
he  and  his  men  lay  at  anchor,  fishing,  not  far  from 
land,  one  of  them  heard  a  strange  sound,  like  a  weak 
human  voice;  and,  looking  towards  the  shore,  the}-- 
saw  a  small  black  object  in  motion,  apparently  a  hat 
waved  on  the  end  of  a  stick.  Rowing  in  haste  to  the 
spot,  they  found  the  priest  Aubry.  For  sixteen  days 
he  had  wandered  in  the  woods,  sustaining  life  on 
berries  and  wild  fruits ;  and  when,  haggard  and  ema- 
ciated, a  shadow  of  his  former  self,  Champdor^  carried 
liim  back  to  St.  Croix,  he  was  greeted  as  a  man  risen 
from  the  grave. 

In  1783  the  river  St.  Croix,  by  treaty,  was  made 
the  boundary  between  Maine  and  New  Brunswick. 
But  which  was  the  true  St.  Croix?  In  1798,  the 
point  was  settled.  De  Monts's  island  was  found; 
and,  painfully  searching  among  the  sand,  the  sedge, 
and  the  matted  whortleberry  bushes,  the  commis- 
sionei-s  could  trace  the  foundations  of  buildings  long 
crumbled  into  dust;^  for  the  wilderness  had  resumed 
its  sway,  and  silence  and  solitude  brooded  once  more 
over  tliis  ancient  resting-place  of  ciAdlization. 

But  while  the  commissioner  bends  over  a  moss- 
gi-own  stone,  it  is  for  us  to  trace  back  the  dim  vista 

»  Lescarbot,  Uist.  de  la  Nouvdle  France  (1612),  II.  461. 
"  Holmes,  ^nna/5,  (1829,)  I.  122,  note  1. 


1604.]  ST.   CROIX.  73 

of  the  centuries  to  the  life,  the  zeal,  the  energ}-,  of 
which  this  stone  is  the  poor  memorial.  The  rock- 
fenced  islet  was  covered  with  cedai-s,  and  when  the 
tide  was  out  the  shoals  around  were  dark  with  the 
swash  of  sea-weed,  where,  in  their  leisure  moments, 
the  Frenclimen,  we  are  told,  amused  themselves  with 
detaching  the  limpets  from  the  stones,  as  a  savory 
addition  to  their  fare.  But  there  was  little  leisure 
at  St.  Croix.  Soldiers,  sailors,  and  artisans  betook 
themselves  to  tlieir  task.  Before  the  winter  closed 
in,  the  northern  end  of  the  island  was  covered  with 
buildings,  surrounding  a  square,  where  a  solitary  tree 
had  been  left  standing.  On  the  right  was  a  spacious 
house,  well  built,  and  surmounted  by  one  of  those 
enormous  roofs  characteristic  of  the  time.  Tliis  was 
the  lodging  of  De  Monts.  Behind  it,  and  near  the 
water,  was  a  long,  covered  gallery,  for  labor  or  amuse- 
ment in  foul  weather.  Champlain  and  the  Sieur 
d'Orville,  aided  by  the  servants  of  the  latter,  built  a 
house  for  themselves  nearly  opposite  that  of  De 
Monts ;  and  the  remainder  of  the  square  was  occupied 
by  storehouses,  a  magazine,  workshops,  lodgings  for 
gentlemen  and  artisans,  and  a  barrack  for  the  S^\•iss 
soldiers,  the  whole  enclosed  with  a  palisade.  Adja- 
cent there  was  an  attempt  at  a  garden,  under  the 
auspices  of  Champlain;  but  nothing  would  grow  in 
the  sandy  soil.  There  was  a  cemetery,  too,  and  a 
small  rustic  chapel  on  a  projecting  point  of  rock. 
Such  was  the  "Habitation  de  ITsle  Saincte-Croix," 
as  set  forth  by  Champlain  in  quaint  plans  and  di'aw- 


74  ACADIA  OCCUPIED.  [1604. 

jiirjs,  in  tliat  musty  little  quarto  of  1613,  sold  by 
Jean  Hcrjou,  at  the  sign  of  the  Flying  Horse,  Rue  St. 
Jean  tie  Beauvais. 

Their  lahoi-s  over,  Poutrincourt  set  sail  for  France, 
proposing  to  return  and  take  possession  of  his  domain 
of  Port  Royal.  Seventy-nine  men  remained  at  St. 
Croix.  Here  was  De  Monts,  feudal  lord  of  half  a 
continent  in  virtue  of  two  potent  syllables,  "Henri," 
scrawled  on  parchment  by  the  rugged  hand  of  the 
Bdarnais.  Here  were  gentlemen  of  birth  and  breed- 
ing, Champlain,  D'Orville,  Beaumont,  Sourin,  La 
Motte,  Boulay,  and  Fougeray;  here  also  were  the 
pugnacious  cure  and  his  fellow  priests,  with  the 
Huguenot  ministers,  objects  of  their  unceasing  ire. 
The  rest  were  laborers,  artisans,  and  soldiers,  all  in 
the  pay  of  the  company,  and  some  of  them  forced 
into  its  service. 

Poutrincoiu-t's  receding  sails  vanished  between  the 
water  and  the  sky.  The  exiles  were  left  to  their 
solitude.  From  the  Spanish  settlements  northward 
to  the  pole,  there  was  no  domestic  hearth,  no  lodge- 
ment of  civilized  men,  save  one  weak  band  of  French- 
men, clinging,  as  it  were  for  life,  to  the  fringe  of  the 
vast  and  savage  continent.  The  gray  and  sullen 
autumn  sank  upon  the  waste,  and  the  bleak  wind 
howled  do^^^l  the  St.  Croix,  and  swept  the  forest 
bire.  Then  the  whirling  snow  powdered  the  vast 
sweep  of  desolate  woodland,  and  shrouded  in  white 
the  gloomy  green  of  pine-clad  mountains.  Ice  in 
sheets,  or  broken  masses,  swept  by  their  island  with 


1605.]  SEVERITY  OF  THE  WINTER.  75 

the  ebbing  and  flowing  tide,  often  debarring  all  access 
to  the  main,  and  cutting  off  their  supplies  of  wood 
and  water.  A  belt  of  cedars,  indeed,  hedged  tlie 
island ;  but  De  Monts  had  ordered  them  to  be  spared, 
that  the  north  wind  might  spend  something  of  its 
force  with  whistling  through  their  shaggy  boughs. 
Cider  and  wine  froze  in  the  casks,  and  were  served 
out  by  the  pound.  As  they  crowded  round  their 
half-fed  fires,  shivering  in  the  icy  currents  that 
pierced  their  rude  tenements,  many  sank  into  a 
desperate  apathy. 

Soon  the  scurvy  broke  out,  and  raged  with  a  fear- 
ful malignity.  Of  the  seventy-nine,  thirty-five  died 
before  spring,  and  many  more  were  brought  to  the 
verge  of  death.  In  vain  they  sought  that  marvellous 
tree  wliich  had  relieved  the  followers  of  Cartier. 
Their  little  cemetery  was  peopled  with  nearly  half 
their  number,  and  the  rest,  bloated  and  disfigured 
with  the  relentless  malady,  thought  more  of  escaping 
from  their  woes  than  of  building  up  a  Transatlantic 
empire.  Yet  among  them  there  was  one,  at  least, 
who,  amid  languor  and  defection,  held  to  his  purpose 
with  indomitable  tenacity ;  and  where  Champlain  was 
present,  there  was  no  room  for  despair. 

Spring  came  at  last,  and,  with  the  breaking  up  of 
the  ice,  the  melting  of  the  snow,  and  the  clamors  of 
the  returning  ^vild-fowl,  the  spirits  and  the  health  of 
the  woe-begone  company  began  to  revive.  But  to 
misery  succeeded  anxiety  and  suspense.  Wliere  was 
the  succor  from  France?     Were  they  abandoned  to 


7r.  ACADIA  OCCUPIED.  [1605. 

their  fate  like  the  wretched  exiles  of  La  Roche  ?  In 
a  happy  hour,  they  saw  an  approaching  sail.  Pont- 
gravd,  with  forty  men,  cast  anchor  before  their  island 
on  the  sixteenth  of  June ;  and  they  hailed  him  as  the 
condemned  hails  the  messenger  of  his  pardon. 

Weary  of  St.  Croix,  De  Monts  resolved  to  seek 
out  a  more  auspicious  site,  on  which  to  rear  the 
capitid  of  his  wilderness  dominion.  During  the  pre- 
ceding September,  Champlain  had  ranged  the  west- 
ward coast  in  a  pinnace,  visited  and  named  the 
island  of  Mount  Desert,  and  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Penobscot,  called  by  him  the  Pemetigoet, 
or  Pentegoet,  and  previously  known  to  fur-traders 
and  fishermen  as  the  Norembega,  a  name  which  it 
shared  mth  all  the  adjacent  region.  ^  Now,  embark- 
ing a  second  time,  in  a  bark  of  fifteen  tons,  with  De 
INlonts,  several  gentlemen,  twenty  sailors,  and  an 
Indian  with  liis  squaw,  he  set  forth  on  the  eighteenth 
of  Jmie  on  a  second  voyage  of  discovery.  They 
coasted  the  strangely  indented  shores  of  Maine,  with 
its  reefs  and  surf-washed  islands,  rocky  headlands, 
and  deep  embosomed  bays,  passed  Mount  Desert  and 
the  Penobscot,  explored  the  mouths  of  the  Kennebec, 
crossed  Casco  Bay,  and  descried  the  distant  peaks  of 
the  White  Mountains.     The  ninth  of  July  brought 

1  The  earliest  maps  and  narratives  indicate  a  city,  also  called  Norem- 
bega, on  the  banks  of  the  Penobscot.  The  pilot,  Jean  Alphonse,  of 
Saiiitouge,  says  that  this  fabulous  city  is  fifteen  or  twenty  leagues 
from  the  sea,  and  that  its  inhabitants  are  of  small  stature  and  dark 
complexion.  As  late  as  1607  the  fable  was  repeated  in  the  Histoire 
Cniverselle  dcs  Indes  Occidentales. 


1605.]        EXPLORATIONS   OF  CHAMPLAIN.  77 

them  to  Saco  Bay.  They  were  now  -within  the  limits 
of  a  group  of  tribes  who  were  called  by  the  French 
the  Arniouchiquois,  and  who  included  those  whom 
the  English  afterwards  called  the  Massachusetts. 
They  differed  in  habits  as  well  as  in  language  from 
the  Etechemins  and  Micmacs  of  Acadia,  for  they 
were  tillera  of  the  soil,  and  around  their  wigwams 
were  fields  of  maize,  beans,  pumpkins,  squashes, 
tobacco,  and  the  so-called  Jerusalem  artichoke.  Near 
Front's  Neck,  more  than  eighty  of  them  ran  down  to 
the  shore  to  meet  the  strangers,  dancing  and  yelping 
to  show  their  joy.  They  had  a  fort  of  palisades  on  a 
rising  ground  by  the  Saco,  for  they  were  at  deadly 
war  with  their  neighbors  towards  the  east. 

On  the  twelfth,  the  French  resumed  their  voyage, 
and,  like  some  adventurous  party  of  pleasure,  held 
their  course  by  the  beaches  of  York  and  Wells, 
Portsmouth  Harbor,  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  Rye  Beach, 
and  Hampton  Beach,  till,  on  the  fifteenth,  they 
descried  the  dim  outline  of  Cape  Ann.  Champlain 
called  it  Cap  aux  Isles,  from  the  three  adjacent 
islands,  and  in  a  subsequent  voyage  he  gave  the 
name  of  Beauport  to  the  neighboring  harbor  of 
Gloucester.  Thence  steering  southward  and  west- 
ward, they  entered  Massachusetts  Bay,  gave  the 
name  of  Riviere  du  Guast  to  a  river  flowing  into  it, 
probably  the  Charles;  passed  the  islands  of  Boston 
Harbor,  wliich  Champlain  describes  as  covered  with 
trees,  and  were  met  on  the  way  by  great  numbers  of 
canoes  filled  with  astonished  Indians.     On  Sunday, 


78  ACADIA  OCCUPIED.  [IGOo, 

the  seventeenth,  they  passed  Point  Allerton  and 
Nantiisket  Beach,  coasted  the  shores  of  Cohasset, 
Scituate,  and  Marshfield,  and  anchored  for  the  night 
near  Brant  Point.  On  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth, 
a  head  wind  forced  them  to  take  shelter  in  Port  St. 
Louis,  for  so  they  called  the  harbor  of  Plymouth, 
where  the  Pilgrims  made  their  memorable  landing 
fifteen  years  later.  Indian  wigwams  and  garden 
patches  lined  the  shore.  A  troop  of  the  inhabitants 
came  down  to  the  beach  and  danced;  while  others, 
who  had  been  fishing,  approached  in  their  canoes, 
came  on  board  the  vessel,  and  showed  Champlain 
their  fish-hooks,  consisting  of  a  barbed  bone  lashed 
at  an  acute  angle  to  a  slip  of  wood. 

From  Plymouth  the  party  circled  round  the  bay, 
doubled  Cape  Cod,  called  by  Champlain  Cap  Blanc, 
from  its  glistening  white  sands,  and  steered  south- 
ward to  Nausett  Harbor,  which,  by  reason  of  its 
shoals  and  sand-bars,  they  named  Port  Mallebarre. 
Here  their  prosperity  deserted  them.  A  party  of 
sailoi-s  went  behind  the  sand-banks  to  find  fresh  water 
at  a  spring,  when  an  Indian  snatched  a  kettle  from 
one  of  them,  and  its  owner,  pursuing,  fell,  pierced 
with  arrows  by  the  robber's  comrades.  The  French 
in  the  vessel  opened  fire.  Champlain's  arquebuse 
burst,  and  was  near  killing  him,  wliile  the  Indians, 
s^\'ift  as  deer,  quickly  gained  the  woods.  Several 
of  the  tribe  chanced  to  be  on  board  the  vessel,  but 
flung  themselves  with  such  alacrity  into  the  water 
that  only  one  was  caught.     They  bound   him  hand 


1G05.J  PLYMOUTH.  —  CAPE    COD.  79 

and    foot,    but    soon    after    humanely    set    hlia    at 
liberty. 

Champlain,  who  we  are  told  "delighted  marvel- 
lously in  these  enterprises,"  had  busied  himself 
throughout  the  voyage  wdth  taking  observations, 
making  charts,  and  stud}dng  the  wonders  of  land  and 
sea.  The  "  horse-foot  crab  "  seems  to  have  awakened 
his  special  curiosity,  and  he  describes  it  with  amus- 
ing exactness.  Of  the  human  tenants  of  the  New 
England  coast  he  has  also  left  the  first  precise  and 
trustworthy  account.  They  were  clearly  more  numer- 
ous than  when  the  Puritans  landed  at  Plymouth, 
since  in  the  interval  a  pestilence  made  great  havoc 
among  them.  But  Champlain 's  most  conspicuous 
merit  lies  in  the  light  that  he  threw  into  the  dark 
places  of  American  geography,  and  the  order  that  he 
brought  out  of  the  chaos  of  American  cartography; 
for  it  was  a  result  of  this  and  the  rest  of  his  voyages 
that  precision  and  clearness  began  at  last  to  supplant 
the  vagueness,  confusion,  and  contradiction  of  the 
earlier  map-makere.^ 

At  Nausett  Harbor  provisions  began  to  fail,   and 

1  President  Eliot  of  Harvard  University,  and  his  son,  Mr.  Charles 
Eliot,  during  many  yacht  voyages  along  the  New  England  coast,  made 
a  study  of  the  points  visited  by  Champlain.  I  am  indebted  to  them 
for  useful  information,  as  also  to  Mr.  Henry  Mitchell  of  the  Coast 
Survey,  who  has  made  careful  comparisons  of  the  maps  of  Champlain 
with  the  present  features  of  the  places  they  represent.  I  am  also  in- 
debted to  the  excellent  notes  of  Rev.  Edmund  E.  Slafter  in  Mr.  Otis's 
translation  of  Cliamplain,  and  to  those  of  Abbe  Laverdiere  in  the 
Quebec  edition  of  the  Voya;/es,  1870.  In  the  new  light  from  these 
sources,  I  have  revised  former  conclusions  touching  several  localities 
mentioned  in  the  original  narrative. 


80  ACADIA  OCCUPIED.  [1605. 

steering  for  St.  Croix  the  voyagers  reached  that  ill- 
stiirrcd  island  on  the  third  of  August.  De  Monts 
liad  found  no  spot  to  his  liking.  He  now  bethought 
liiiii  of  that  inland  harbor  of  Port  Royal  which  he 
had  granted  to  Povitrincourt,  and  thither  he  resolved 
to  remove.  Stores,  utensils,  even  portions  of  the 
buildings,  were  placed  on  board  the  vessels,  carried 
across  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  landed  at  the  chosen 
spot.  It  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  basin  opposite 
Goat  Island,  and  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Annapolis,  called  by  the  French  the  fiquille,  and, 
afterwards,  the  Dauphin.  The  axe-men  began  their 
task;  the  dense  forest  was  cleared  away,  and  the 
buildings  of  the  infant  colony  soon  rose  in  its  place. 

But  while  De  Monts  and  his  company  were  strug- 
gling against  despair  at  St.  Croix,  the  enemies  of  his 
monopoly  were  busy  at  Paris;  and,  by  a  ship  from 
France,  he  was  warned  that  prompt  measures  were 
needed  to  thwart  their  machinations.  Therefore  he 
set  sail,  leaving  Pontgrave  to  command  at  Port 
Royal;  wliile  Champlain,  Champdor^,  and  others, 
undaunted  by  the  past,  volunteered  for  a  second 
winter  in  the  wilderness. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1605-1607. 

LESCARBOT  AND  CHAMPLAIN. 

De  Monts  at  Paris.  —  Marc  Lescarbot.  —  Disaster.  —  Embark- 
ation. —  Arrival.  —  Disappointment.  —  Winter  Life  at  Pori 
Royal.  —  L'Ordre  de  Bon-Temps.  —  Hopes  Blighted. 

Evil  reports  of  a  churlisli  wilderness,  a  pitiless 
climate,  disease,  misery,  and  death,  had  heralded 
the  arrival  of  De  Monts.  The  outlay  had  been  great, 
the  returns  small;  and  when  he  reached  Paris,  he 
found  his  friends  cold,  his  enemies  active  and  keen. 
Poutrincourt,  however,  was  still  full  of  zeal;  and, 
though  his  private  affairs  urgently  called  for  his 
presence  in  France,  he  resolved,  at  no  small  sacrifice, 
to  go  in  person  to  Acadia.  He  had,  moreover,  a 
friend  who  proved  an  invaluable  ally.  This  was 
Marc  Lescarbot,  "avocat  en  Parlement,"  who  had 
been  roughly  handled  by  fortune,  and  was  in  the 
mood  for  such  a  venture,  being  desirous,  as  he  tells 
us,  "to  fly  from  a  corrupt  world,"  in  which  he  had 
just  lost  a  lawsuit.  Unlike  De  Monts,  Poutrincourt, 
and  others  of  his  associates,  he  was  not  within  the 
pale  of  the  noblesse,  belonging  to  the  class  of  "gens 
de  robe,"  which  stood  at  the  head  of  the  bourgeoisie^ 


82  LESCARBOT  AND  CHAMPLAIN.  [1605. 

and  wliich,  in  its  higlier  grades,  formed  within  itself 
a  virtual  noLility.  Lescarbot  was  no  common  man, 
—  not  that  his  abundant  gift  of  verse-making  was 
Iik(4y  to  avail  much  in  the  woods  of  New  France, 
nor  yet  his  classic  lore,  dashed  with  a  little  harmless 
pedantry,  born  not  of  the  man,  but  of  the  times; 
but  his  zeal,  liis  good  sense,  the  vigor  of  his  under- 
standing, and  the  breadth  of  his  views,  were  as  con- 
spicuous as  his  quick  wit  and  his  lively  fancy.  One 
of  the  best,  as  well  as  earliest,  records  of  the  early 
settlement  of  North  America  is  due  to  his  pen ;  and 
it  has  been  said,  "\vith  a  certain  degree  of  truth,  that 
he  was  no  less  able  to  build  up  a  colony  than  to  write 
its  history.  He  professed  himself  a  Catholic,  but  his 
Catholicity  sat  lightly  on  him;  and  he  might  have 
passed  for  one  of  those  amphibious  religionists  who  in 
the  civil  wars  were  called  "Les  Politiques." 

De  Monts  and  Poutrincourt  bestirred  themselves 
to  find  a  priest,  since  the  foes  of  the  enterprise  had 
been  loud  in  lamentation  that  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
the  Indians  had  been  slighted.  But  it  was  Holy 
Week.  All  the  priests  were,  or  professed  to  be,  busy 
with  exercises  and  confessions,  and  not  one  could  be 
found  to  undertiike  the  mission  of  Acadia.  They 
were  more  successful  in  engaging  mechanics  and 
laborers  for  the  voyage.  These  were  paid  a  portion 
of  their  wages  in  advance,  and  were  sent  in  a  body 
to  Rochelle,  consigned  to  two  merchants  of  that  port, 
menibei-s  of  the  company.  De  Monts  and  Poutrin- 
court went  thither  by  post.     Lescarbot  soon  followed, 


1606.]  MARC   LESCARBOT.  83 

and  no  sooner  reached  Roehelle  than  he  penned  and 
printed  his  Adieu  a  la  France,  a  poem  which  gained 
for  him  some  credit. 

More  serious  matters  awaited  him,  however,  than 
this  dalHance  with  the  Muse.  Roehelle  was  the 
centre  and  citadel  of  Calvinism,  —  a  town  of  austere 
and  grim  aspect,  divided,  like  Cisatlantic  communi- 
ties of  later  growth,  betwixt  trade  and  religion,  and, 
in  the  interest  of  both,  exacting  a  deportment  of 
discreet  and  well-ordered  sobriety.  "  One  must  walk 
a  strait  path  here,"  says  Lescarbot,  "unless  he  would 
hear  from  the  mayor  or  the  ministers."  But  the 
mechanics  sent  from  Paris,  flush  of  money,  and 
lodged  together  in  the  quarter  of  St.  Nicolas,  made 
day  and  night  hideous  with  riot,  and  their  employei-s 
found  not  a  few  of  them  in  the  hands  of  the  police. 
Their  ship,  bearing  the  inauspicious  name  of  the 
"Jonas,"  lay  anchored  in  the  stream,  her  cargo  on 
board,  when  a  sudden  gale  blew  her  adrift.  She 
struck  on  a  pier,  then  grounded  on  the  flats,  bilged, 
careened,  and  settled  in  the  mud.  Her  captain,  who 
was  asliore,  ^vith  Poutrincourt,  Lescarbot,  and  othere, 
hastened  aboard,  and  the  pumps  were  set  in  motion; 
wliile  all  Roehelle,  we  are  told,  came  to  gaze  from 
the  ramparts,  with  faces  of  condolence,  but  at  heart 
well  pleased  witli  the  disaster.  The  ship  and  her 
cargo  were  saved,  but  she  must  be  emptied,  repaired, 
and  reladen.  Thus  a  month  was  lost;  at  length,  on 
the  thirteenth  of  May,  1606,  the  disorderly  crew  were 
all  brought  on  board,  and  the  "Jonas'    put  to  sea. 


84  LESCARBOT   AND  CHAMPLAIN.  [1606. 

Poutrincourt  and  Lescarbot  had  charge  of  the  expe- 
dition, De  Monts  remaining  in  France. 

Lescarbot  describes  his  emotions  at  finding  himself 
on  an  element  so  deficient  in  solidity,  with  only  a 
two-inch  plank  between  him  and  death.  Off  the 
Azores,  they  spoke  a  supposed  pirate.  For  the  rest, 
they  beguiled  the  voyage  by  harpooning  porpoises, 
dancing  on  deck  in  calm  weather,  and  fishing  for  cod 
on  the  Grand  Bank.  They  were  two  months  on  their 
way;  and  when,  fevered  with  eagerness  to  reach 
land,  they  listened  hourly  for  the  welcome  cry,  they 
were  involved  in  impenetrable  fogs.  Suddenly  the 
mists  parted,  the  sun  shone  forth,  and  streamed  fair 
and  bright  over  the  fresh  hills  and  forests  of  the  New 
World,  in  near  view  before  them.  But  the  black 
rocks  lay  between,  lashed  by  the  snow-wliite  breakers. 
"Thus,"  writes  Lescarbot,  "doth  a  man  sometimes 
seek  the  land  as  one  doth  his  beloved,  who  sometimes 
repulseth  her  sweetheart  very  rudely.  Finally,  upon 
Saturday,  the  fifteenth  of  July,  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  the  sky  began  to  salute  us  as  it  were 
with  cannon-shots,  shedding  tears,  as  being  sorry  to 
have  kept  us  so  long  in  pain;  .  .  .  but,  whilst  we 
followed  on  our  course,  there  came  from  the  land 
odoi-s  incomparable  for  sweetness,  brought  with  a 
warm  wind  so  abundantly  that  all  the  Orient  parts 
could  not  produce  greater  abundance.  We  did 
stretch  out  our  hands  as  it  were  to  take  them,  so 
palpable  were  they,  wliich  I  have  admired  a  thousand 
times  since.  "1 

^  The  translation  is  that  of  Purthas,  Nova  Francia,  c,  12. 


1606.]  ARRIVAL  AT  PORT  ROYAL.  85 

It  was  noon  on  the  twenty-seventh  when  the 
"  Jonas  "  passed  the  rocky  gateway  of  Port  Royal 
Basin,  and  Lescarbot  gazed  with  delight  and  wonder 
on  the  calm  expanse  of  sunny  waters,  with  its  amphi- 
theatre of  woody  hills,  wherein  he  saw  the  future 
asylum  of  distressed  merit  and  impoverished  industry. 
Slowly,  before  a  favoring  breeze,  they  held  their 
course  towards  the  head  of  the  harbor,  which  narrowed 
as  they  advanced ;  but  all  was  solitude,  —  no  moving 
sail,  no  sign  of  human  presence.  At  length,  on  their 
left,  nestling  in  deep  forests,  they  saw  the  wooden 
walls  and  roofs  of  the  infant  colony.  Then  appeared 
a  birch  canoe,  cautiously  coming  towards  them, 
guided  by  an  old  Indian.  Then  a  Frenchman,  ar- 
quebuse  in  hand,  came  down  to  the  shore ;  and  then, 
from  the  wooden  bastion,  sprang  the  smoke  of  a 
saluting  shot.  The  ship  replied;  the  trumpets  lent 
their  voices  to  the  din,  and  the  forests  and  the  hills 
gave  back  unwonted  echoes.  The  voyagers  landed, 
and  found  the  colony  of  Port  Royal  dwindled  to  two 
solitary  Frenchmen. 

These  soon  told  their  story.  The  preceding  winter 
had  been  one  of  much  suffering,  though  by  no  means 
the  counterpart  of  the  woful  experience  of  St.  Croix. 
But  when  the  spring  had  passed,  the  summer  far 
advanced,  and  still  no  tidings  of  De  Monts  had  come, 
Pontgrav^  grew  deeply  anxious.  To  maintain  them- 
selves without  supplies  and  succor  was  impossible. 
He  caused  two  small  vessels  to  be  built,  and  set  out 
in  search  of  some  of  the  French  vessels  on  the  lisliing- 


86  LESCARBOT  AND  CHAMPLAIN,  [1606. 

stutiniis.  This  was  but  twelve  days  before  the  arrival 
of  the  ship  "Jonas."  Two  men  had  bravely  offered 
themselves  to  stay  behind  and  guard  the  buildings, 
guns,  and  munitions ;  and  an  old  Indian  chief,  named 
Mt'inbertou,  a  fast  friend  of  the  French,  and  still  a 
redoubted  warrior,  we  are  told,  though  reputed  to 
number  more  than  a  hundred  years,  proved  a  stanch 
ally.  When  the  ship  approached,  the  two  guardians 
were  at  dinner  in  their  room  at  the  fort.  Membertou, 
always  on  the  watch,  saw  the  advancing  sail,  and, 
shouting  from  the  gate,  roused  them  from  their 
repast.  In  doubt  who  the  new-comers  might  be,  one 
ran  to  the  shore  with  his  gun,  while  the  other  repaired 
to  the  platform  where  four  cannon  were  mounted,  in 
the  valorous  resolve  to  show  fight  should  the  strangers 
prove  to  be  enemies.  Happily  tliis  redundancy  of 
mettle  proved  needless.  He  saw  the  wliite  flag  flut- 
tering at  the  masthead,  and  joyfully  fired  his  pieces 
as  a  salute. 

The  voyagere  landed,  and  eagerly  surveyed  their 
new  home.  Some  wandered  through  the  buildings; 
some  \asited  the  cluster  of  Indian  wigwams  hard  by ; 
some  roamed  in  the  forest  and  over  the  meadows  that 
bordered  the  neighboring  river.  The  deserted  fort 
now  swarmed  with  life ;  and,  the  better  to  celebrate 
their  prosperous  arrival,  Poutrincourt  placed  a  hogs- 
head of  wine  in  the  courtyard  at  the  discretion  of  his 
followers,  whose  liilarity,  in  consequence,  became 
exuberant.  Nor  was  it  diminished  when  Pontgrav^'s 
vessels  were  seen  entering  the  harbor.     A  boat  sent 


1606.]  DISASTER.  87 

by  Poutrincourt,  more  than  a  week  before,  to  explore 
the  coasts,  had  met  them  near  Cape  Sable,  and  they 
joyfully  returned  to  Port  Royal. 

Pontgravd,  however,  soon  sailed  for  France  in  the 
"Jonas,"  hoping  on  his  way  to  seize  certain  contra- 
band fur-traders,  reported  to  be  at  Canseau  and  Cape 
Breton.  Poutrincourt  and  Champlain,  bent  on  find- 
ing a  better  site  for  their  settlement  in  a  more  southern 
latitude,  set  out  on  a  voyage  of  discovery,  in  an  ill- 
built  vessel  of  eighteen  tons,  while  Lescarbot  remained 
in  charge  of  Port  Royal.  They  had  little  for  their 
pains  but  danger,  hardship,  and  mishap.  The  autumn 
gales  cut  short  their  exploration;  and,  after  visiting 
Gloucester  Harbor,  doubling  INIonomoy  Point,  and 
advancing  as  far  as  the  neighborhood  of  Ilyannis,  on 
the  southeast  coast  of  ISIassachusetts,  they  turned 
back,  somewhat  disgusted  with  their  errand.  Along 
the  eastern  verge  of  Cape  Cod  tliey  found  the  shore 
thickly  studded  with  the  A^dgwams  of  a  race  who 
were  less  hunters  than  tillei's  of  the  soil.  At  Chatham 
Harbor  —  called  by  them  Port  Fortund  —  five  of  the 
company,  who,  contrary  to  orders,  had  remained  on 
shore  all  night,  were  assailed,  as  they  slept  around 
their  fire,  by  a  shower  of  arrows  from  four  hundred 
Indians.  Two  were  killed  outright,  while  the  sur- 
vivors fled  for  their  boat,  bristling  like '  porcupines 
"wdth  the  feathered  missiles,  —  a  scene  oddly  portrayed 
by  the  imtutored  pencil  of  Champlain.  Pie  and 
Poutrincourt,  with  eight  men,  hearing  the  war- 
whoops  and  the  cries  for  aid,  sprang  up  from  sleep. 


88  LESCARBOT  AND  CHAMPLAIN.  [1606. 

snatched  their  weapons,  pulled  ashore  in  their  shirts, 
and  charged  the  yelling  multitude,  who  fled  before 
their  spectral  assailants,  and  vanished  in  the  woods. 
"•Thus,"  observes  Lescarbot,  "did  thirty-five  thou- 
sand Midianites  fly  before  Gideon  and  his  three  hun- 
dred." The  French  buried  their  dead  comrades  ;  but, 
as  they  chanted  their  funeral  hymn,  the  Indians,  at  a 
safe  distance  on  a  neighboring  hill,  were  dancing  in 
glee  and  triumph,  and  mocking  them  with  unseemly 
gestures ;  and  no  sooner  had  the  party  re-embarked, 
than  they  dug  up  the  dead  bodies,  burnt  them,  and 
arrayed  themselves  in  their  shirts.  Little  pleased 
with  the  country  or  its  inhabitants,  the  vo3^agers 
turned  their  prow  towards  Port  Royal,  though  not 
imtil,  by  a  treacherous  device,  they  had  lured  some 
of  their  late  assailants  within  their  reach,  killed  them, 
and  cut  off  their  heads  as  trophies.  Near  Mount 
Desert,  on  a  stormy  night,  their  rudder  broke,  and 
they  had  a  hair-breadth  escape  from  destruction. 
The  chief  object  of  their  voyage,  that  of  discovering 
a  site  for  their  colony  under  a  more  southern  sky, 
had  failed.  Pontgravd's  son  had  his  hand  blown  off 
by  the  bui-sting  of  his  gun;  several  of  their  number 
had  been  killed;  others  were  sick  or  wounded;  and 
thus,  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  with  somewhat 
downcast  \'isages,  they  guided  their  helpless  vessel 
^^•ith  a  pair  of  oars  to  the  landing  at  Port  Royal. 

"I  will  not,"  says  Lescarbot,  "compare  their  perils 
to  those  of  Ulysses,  nor  yet  of  ^neas,  lest  thereby  1 
should  sully  our  holy  enterprise  with  things  impure." 


1606.]  ANOTHER  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  ENGLAND.      89 

He  and  his  followers  had  been  expecting  them 
with  great  anxiety.  His  alert  and  buoyant  spirit 
had  conceived  a  plan  for  enlivening  the  courage  of 
the  company,  a  little  dashed  of  late  by  misgivings 
and  forebodings.  Accordingly,  as  Poutrincourt, 
Champlain,  and  their  weather-beaten  crew  approached 
the  wooden  gateway  of  Port  Royal,  Neptune  issued 
forth,  followed  by  liLs  tritons,  who  greeted  the  voy- 
ages in  good  French  verse,  written  in  all  haste  for 
the  occasion  by  Lescarbot.  And,  as  they  entered, 
they  beheld,  blazoned  over  the  arch,  the  arms  of 
France,  circled  with  laurels,  and  flanked  by  the 
scutcheons  of  De  ]\Ionts  and  Poutrincourt.  ^ 

The  ingenious  author  of  these  devices  had  busied 
himself,  during  the  absence  of  his  associates,  in  more 
serious  labors  for  the  welfare  of  the  colony.  He 
explored  the  low  borders  of  the  river  Equille,  or 
Annapolis.  Here,  in  the  solitude,  he  saw  great 
meadows,  where  the  moose,  with  their  young,  were 
grazing,  and  where  at  times  the  rank  grass  was  beaten 
to  a  pulp  by  the  trampling  of  their  hoofs.  He  burned 
the  grass,  and  sowed  crops  of  wheat,  rye,  and  barley 
in  its  stead.  His  appearance  gave  so  little  promise 
of  personal  vigor,  that  some  of  the  party  assured  him 
that  he  would  never  see  France  again,  and  warned 
him  to  husband  his  strength;  but  he  knew  himself 
better,  and  set  at  naught  these  comforting  monitions. 
He   was   the   most   diligent   of  workers.     He  made 

^  Lescarbot,  Muses  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  where  the  programme  is 
given,  and  the  speeches  ot  Neptune  and  the  tritons  in  full. 


90  LESCARBOT  AND  CHAMPLAIN.  [160(5. 

gardens  near  the  fort,  where,  in  his  zeal,  he  plied  the 
hoe  with  his  own  hands  late  into  the  moonlight  even- 
ings. The  priests,  of  whom  at  the  outset  there  had 
been  no  lack,  hud  all  succumbed  to  the  scurvy  at  St. 
Croix;  and  Lescarbot,  so  far  as  a  layman  might, 
essayed  to  supply  their  place,  reading  on  Sundays 
from  the  Scriptures,  and  adding  expositions  of  his 
own  after  a  fashion  not  remarkable  for  rigorous 
Catholicity.  Of  an  evening,  when  not  engrossed 
with  his  garden,  he  was  reading  or  writing  in  his 
room,  perhaps  preparing  the  material  of  that  History 
of  New  France  in  which,  despite  the  versatility  of  his 
busy  brain,  his  good  sense  and  capacity  are  clearly 
made  manifest. 

Now,  however,  when  the  whole  company  were  reas- 
sembled, Lescarbot  found  associates  more  congenial 
than  the  rude  soldiers,  mechanics,  and  laborers  who 
gatliered  at  night  around  the  blazing  logs  in  their 
rude  hall.  Port  Royal  was  a  quadrangle  of  wooden 
buildings,  enclosing  a  spacious  court.  At  the  south- 
east corner  was  the  arched  gateway,  whence  a  path,  a 
few  paces  in  length,  led  to  the  water.  It  was  flanked 
by  a  sort  of  bastion  of  palisades,  while  at  the  south- 
west corner  was  another  bastion,  on  which  four 
cannon  were  mounted.  On  the  east  side  of  the  quad- 
rangle was  a  range  of  magazines  and  storehouses ;  on 
the  west  were  quarters  for  the  men;  on  the  north,  a 
dining-hall  and  lodgings  for  the  principal  persons  of 
the  company;  while  on  the  south,  or  water  side,  were 
the  kitchen,   the  forge,  and  the  oven.     Excect  the 


1606.]  L'ORDRE   DE   BOX-TEMPS.  91 

garden-patches  and  the  cemetery,  the  adjacent  ground 
was  thickly  studded  with  the  stumps  of  the  newly 
felled  trees. 

Most  bountiful  provision  had  been  made  for  the 
temporal  wants  of  the  colonists,  and  Lescarbot  is  pro- 
fuse in  praise  of  the  liberality  of  De  Monts  and  two 
merchants  of  Rochelle,  who  had  freighted  the  ship 
"Jonas."  Of  wine,  in  particular,  the  supply  was  so 
generous,  that  every  man  in  Port  Royal  was  served 
mth  three  pints  daily. 

The  principal  persons  of  the  colony  sat,  fifteen  in 
number,  at  Poutrincourt's  table,  which,  by  an  inge- 
nious device  of  Champlain,  was  always  well  furnished. 
He  formed  the  fifteen  into  a  new  order,  cluistened 
"L'Ordre  de  Bon-Temps."  Each  was  Grand  Master 
in  turn,  holding  office  for  one  day.  It  was  his  func- 
tion to  cater  for  the  company;  and,  as  it  became  a 
point  of  honor  to  fill  the  post  with  credit,  the  prospec- 
tive Grand  Master  was  usually  busy,  for  several  days 
before  coming  to  Ms  dignity,  in  hunting,  fishing,  or 
bartering  provisions  with  the  Indians.  Thus  did 
Poutrincourt's  table  groan  beneath  all  the  luxuries  of 
the  winter  forest,  —  flesh  of  moose,  caribou,  and  deer, 
beaver,  otter,  and  hare,  bears  and  wild-cats;  with 
ducks,  geese,  grouse,  and  plover;  sturgeon,  too,  and 
trout,  and  fish  innumerable,  speared  through  the  ice 
of  the  ^quille,  or  drawn  from  the  depths  of  the 
neighboring  bay.  "And,"  says  Lescarbot,  inclosing 
his  bill  of  fare,  "whatever  our  gourmands  at  home 
may  think,  we  found  as  good  cheer  at  Port  Royal  as 


92  LESCARBOT   AND  CHAMPLAIN.  [1606. 

tliey  at  their  Rue  aux  Ours  ^  in  Paris,  and  that,  too, 
at  a  cheaper  rate."  For  the  preparation  of  this  mani- 
fokl  provision,  the  Grand  Master  was  also  answer- 
able; since,  during  his  day  of  office,  he  was  autocrat 
of  the  kitchen. 

Nor  did  this  bounteous  repast  lack  a  solemn  and 
befitting  ceremonial.  When  the  hour  had  struck,  — 
after  the  manner  of  our  fathers  they  dined  at  noon, 
—  the  Grand  jMaster  entered  the  hall,  a  napkin  on  his 
shoulder,  his  staff  of  office  in  his  hand,  and  the 
collar  of  the  Order  —  valued  by  Lescarbot  at  four 
croAviis  —  about  his  neck.  The  brotherhood  followed, 
each  bearing  a  dish.  The  invited  guests  were  Indian 
chiefs,  of  whom  old  Membertou  was  daily  present, 
seated  at  table  with  the  French,  who  took  pleasure  in 
this  red-sldn  companionsliip.  Those  of  humbler 
degree,  warriors,  squaws,  and  cliildren,  sat  on  the 
floor,  or  crouched  together  in  the  corners  of  the  hall, 
eagerly  waiting  their  portion  of  biscuit  or  of  bread,  a 
novel  and  much  coveted  luxury.  Being  always 
treated  A\-ith  kindness,  they  became  fond  of  the 
French,  who  often  followed  them  on  their  moose- 
hmits,  and  shared  their  winter  bivouac. 

At  the  evening  meal  there  was  less  of  form  and 
circumstance  j  and  when  the  winter  night  closed  in, 
when  the  flame  crackled  and  the  sparks  streamed  up 
the  wide-throated  chimney,  and  the  founders  of  New 
France  with  their  tawny  allies  were  gathered  around 

*  A  short  street  between  Rue  St.  Martin  and  Rue  St.  Denis,  once 
renowned  for  its  restaurants. 


1G07.J  CONTAGIOUS  ACTIVITY.  9S 

the  blaze^  then  did  the  Grand  Master  resign  the  coUar 
and  the  staff  to  the  successor  of  his  honoi-s,  and,  with 
jovial  courtesy,  pledge  him  in  a  cup  of  wine.^  Thus 
these  ingenious  Frenchmen  beguiled  the  winter  of 
their  exile. 

It  was  an  unusuall}-  mild  winter.  Until  Januaiy, 
they  wore  no  warmer  garment  than  their  doublets. 
They  made  hunting  and  fishing  parties,  in  which  the 
Indians,  whose  lodges  were  always  to  be  seen  under 
the  friendly  shelter  of  the  buildings,  failed  not  to 
bear  part.  "  I  remember, "  says  Lescarbot,  "  that  on 
tlie  foui-teenth  of  January,  of  a  Simday  afternoon,  we 
amused  ourselves  vdth  singing  and  music  on  the  river 
Equille;  and  that  in  the  same  month  we  went  to  see 
the  wheat-fields  two  leagues  from  the  fort,  and  dined 
merrily  in  the  smisliine." 

Good  spirits  and  good  cheer  saved  them  in  great 
measui'e  from  the  scuiwy;  and  though  towards  the 
end  of  winter  severe  cold  set  in,  yet  only  fom-  men 
died.  The  snow  thawed  at  last,  and  as  patches  of 
the  black  and  oozy  soil  began  to  appear,  the}'  saAV  the 
grain  of  their  last  autumn's  sowing  already  piercing 
the  mould.  The  forced  inaction  of  the  winter  was 
over.  The  carpenters  built  a  water-mill  on  the 
stream  now  called  Allen's  River ;  others  enclosed 
fields  and  laid  out  gardens ;  others,  again,  %vith  scoop- 
nets  and  baskets,  caught  the  herrings  and  alewives  as 
they  ran  up  the  innumerable  rividets.  Tlie  leadera 
of  the  colony  set  a  contagious  example  of  activity. 

1  Lescarbot  (1612),  II.  581. 


94  LESCARBOT   AND   CIIAMPLAIN.  [1G06. 

Poutriiicourt  forgot  the  prejudices  of  his  nol)le  birth, 
1111(1  went  himself  into  the  woods  to  gather  turpentine 
from  the  pines,  which  he  converted  into  tar  by  a 
process  of  his  own  invention,-  while  Lescarbot,  eager 
to  test  the  qualities  of  the  soil,  was  again,  hoe  in 
luind,  at  work  all  day  in  liis  garden. 

All  seemed  full  of  promise;  but  alas  for  the  bright 
hope  that  kindled  the  manly  heart  of  Champlain  and 
the  earnest  spirit  of  the  vivacious  advocate !  A  sud- 
den blight  fell  on  them,  and  their  rising  prosperity 
withered  to  the  ground.  On  a  morning,  late  in 
spring,  as  the  French  were  at  breakfast,  the  ever 
watchful  Membertou  came  in  with  news  of  an 
approacliing  sail.  They  hastened  to  the  shore ;  but 
the  vision  of  the  centenarian  sagamore  put  them  all 
to  shame.  They  could  see  nothing.  At  length  their 
doubts  were  resolved.  A  small  vessel  stood  on 
towards  them,  and  anchored  before  the  fort.  She 
was  commanded  by  one  Chevalier,  a  young  man  from 
St.  Malo,  and  was  freighted  with  disastrous  tidings. 
De  INIonts's  monopoly  was  rescinded.  The  life  of 
the  enterprise  was  stopped,  and  the  establishment  at 
Port  Royal  could  no  longer  be  supported;  for  its 
expense  was  great,  the  body  of  the  colony  being 
laborers  in  the  pay  of  the  company.  Nor  was  the 
annulling  of  the  patent  the  full  extent  of  the  disaster ; 
for,  during  the  last  summer,  the  Dutch  had  found 
their  way  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  carried  away  a 
rich  harvest  of  fui-s,  while  other  interloping  traders 
had  plied  a  busy  traffic  along  the  coasts,  and,  in  the 


1607.J  HOPES   BLIGHTED.  95 

excess  of  their  avidity,  dug  up  the  bodies  of  buried 
Indians  to  rob  them  of  their  funeral  robes. 

It  was  to  the  merchants  and  fishermen  of  the 
Norman,  Breton,  and  Biscayan  ports,  exasperated  at 
their  exclusion  from  a  lucrative  trade,  and  at  the 
confiscations  which  had  sometimes  followed  their 
attempts  to  engage  in  it,  that  this  sudden  blow  was 
due.  Money  had  been  used  freely  at  court,  and  the 
monopoly,  unjustly  granted,  had  been  more  unjustly 
withdrawn.  De  Monts  and  his  company,  who  had 
spent  a  hundred  thousand  livres,  were  allowed  six 
thousand  in  requital,  to  be  collected,  if  possible,  from 
the  fur-traders  in  the  form  of  a  tax. 

Chevalier,  captain  of  the  ill-omened  bark,  was 
entertained  with  a  hospitality  little  deserved,  since, 
having  been  intrusted  with  sundry  hams,  fruits, 
spices,  sweetmeats,  jellies,  and  other  dainties,  sent  by 
the  generous  De  Monts  to  his  friends  of  New  France, 
he  with  his  crew  had  devoured  them  on  the  voyage, 
alleging  that,  in  their  belief,  the  inmates  of  Port 
Royal  would  all  be  dead  before  their  arrival. 

Choice  there  was  none,  and  Port  Royal  must  be 
abandoned.  Built  on  a  false  basis,  sustained  only  by 
the  fleeting  favor  of  a  government,  the  generous 
enterprise  had  come  to  naught.  Yet  Poutrincourt, 
who  in  virtue  of  his  grant  from  De  Monts  owned  the 
place,  bravely  resolved  that,  come  what  might,  he 
would  see  the  adventure  to  an  end,  even  should  it 
involve  emigration  with  his  family  to  the  wilderness. 
Meanwhile,  he  began  the  dreary  task  of  abandonment, 


96  LESCARBOT   AXD  CRAMPLAIX.  [1607. 

sending  boat-loads  of  men  and  stores  to  Canseau, 
wliere  lay  the  ship  "Jonas,"  eking  out  her  diminished 
profits  by  fishing  for  cod. 

Membertou  was  full  of  grief  at  the  departure  of  his 
friends.  He  had  built  a  palisaded  \'illage  not  far 
from  Port  Royal,  and  here  were  mustered  some  four 
hundred  of  his  warriors  for  a  foray  into  the  country 
of  the  Armouchiquois,  dwellers  along  the  coasts  of 
Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and  "Western  Maine. 
One  of  his  tribesmen  had  been  killed  by  a  chief  from 
the  Saco,  and  he  was  bent  on  revenge.  He  proved 
himself  a  sturdy  beggar,  pursuing  Poutrincourt  with 
daily  petitions,  —  now  for  a  bushel  of  beans,  now  for 
a  basket  of  bread,  and  now  for  a  barrel  of  wine  to 
regale  his  greasy  crew.  Membertou's  long  life  had 
not  been  one  of  repose.  In  deeds  of  blood  and 
treachery  he  had  no  rival  in  the  Acadian  forest;  and, 
as  his  old  age  was  l)eset  with  enemies,  his  alliance 
with  the  French  had  a  foundation  of  policy  no  less 
than  of  affection.  In  right  of  his  rank  of  Sagamore, 
he  claimed  perfect  equality  both  with  Poutrincourt 
and  with  the  King,  laying  his  shiivelled  forefingei-s 
together  in  token  of  friendship  between  peers. 
Calumny  did  not  spare  him;  and  a  rival  chief  inti- 
mated to  the  French,  that,  under  cover  of  a  war  vrith. 
the  Annouchiquois,  the  crafty  veteran  meant  to  seize 
and  plimder  Port  Royal.  Precautions,  therefore, 
were  taken;  but  they  were  seemingly  needless;  for, 
their  feasts  and  dances  over,  the  warriors  launched 
their  birchen  flotilla  and  set  out.     After  an  absence 


1607.]  PORT  ROYAL  ABAXDOXED.  97 

of  six  weeks  they  reappeared  with  howls  of  victory, 
and  their  exploits  were  commemorated  in  French 
verse  by  the  muse  of  the  indefatigable  Lescarbot.^ 

With  a  heavy  heart  the  advocate  bade  farewell  to 
the  dwellings,  the  cornfields,  the  gardens,  and  all 
the  dawning  prosperity  of  Port  Royal,  and  sailed  for 
Canseau  in  a  small  vessel  on  the  thirtieth  of  July. 
Poutrincourt  and  Champlain  remained  beliind,  for 
the  former  was  resolved  to  learn  before  his  departure 
the  results  of  his  agricultural  labors.  Reaching  a 
harbor  on  the  southern  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  six 
leagues  west  of  Canseau,  Lescarbot  found  a  fishing- 
vessel  commanded  and  owned  by  an  old  Basque, 
named  Savalet,  who  for  forty-two  successive  years 
had  carried  to  France  his  amiual  cargo  of  codfish. 
He  was  in  great  glee  at  the  success  of  his  present 
venture,  reckoning  his  profits  at  ten  thousand  francs. 
The  Indians,  however,  annoyed  him  beyond  measure, 
boarding  him  from  their  canoes  as  his  fishing-boats 
came  alongside,  and  helping  themselves  at  will  to  his 
halibut  and  cod.  At  Canseau  —  a  harbor  near  the 
strait  now  bearing  the  name  —  the  ship  "  Jonas  "  still 
lay,  her  hold  well  stored  with  fish;  and  here,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  August,  Lescarbot  was  rejoined  by 
Poutrincourt  and  Champlain,  who  had  come  from  Port 
Royal  in  an  open  boat.  For  a  few  dap,  they  amused 
themselves  ^vith  gathering  raspberries  on  the  islands ; 
then  they  spread  their  sails  for  France,  and  early  in 
October,  1607,  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Malo. 

^  See  Miises  de  la  Nouvelle  France. 

VOL.    II. —  7 


98  LESCARBOT   AND  CHAMPLAIN.  [1607. 

Fii-st  of  Europeans,  they  had  essayed  to  found  an 
agricultural  colony  in  tlie  New  World.  The  leaders 
of  the  enterprise  had  acted  less  as  merchants  than  as 
citizens;  and  the  fur-trading  monopoly,  odious  in 
itself,  had  heen  used  as  the  instrument  of  a  large  and 
generous  design.  There  was  a  radical  defect,  how- 
ever, in  their  scheme  of  settlement.  Excepting  a 
few  of  the  leaders,  those  engaged  in  it  had  not  chosen 
a  home  in  the  wilderness  of  New  France,  but  were 
mere  liirelings,  without  waves  or  families,  and  care- 
less of  the  welfare  of  the  colony.  The  life  which 
should  have  pervaded  all  the  members  was  confined 
to  the  heads  alone.  In  one  respect,  however,  the 
enterprise  of  De  Monts  was  truer  in  principle  than 
the  Roman  Catholic  colonization  of  Canada,  on  the 
one  hand,  or  the  Puritan  colonization  of  Massachu- 
setts, on  the  other,  for  it  did  not  attempt  to  enforce 
religious  exclusion. 

Towards  the  fickle  and  bloodthirsty  race  who 
claimed  the  lordship  of  the  forests,  these  colonists, 
excepting  only  in  the  treacherous  slaughter  at  Port 
Fortune,  bore  themselves  in  a  spirit  of  kindness  con- 
trasting brightly  with  the  rapacious  cruelty  of  the 
Spaniards  and  the  harshness  of  the  English  settlers. 
When  the  last  boat-load  left  Port  Royal,  the  shore 
resounded  with  lamentation ;  and  notliing  could  con- 
sole the  afflicted  savages  but  reiterated  promises  of  a 
speedy  return. 


CHAPTER  V. 

1610,  1611. 

THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  PATRONESS. 

POUTRINCOUKT  AND   THE    JeSDITS.  —  He  SAILS    FOR    ACADIA.  —  ScD- 

DEN  Conversions.  —  Biencourt.  —  Death  of  the  King.  — 
Madame  de  Guercheville.  —  Biard  and  Masse.  —  The 
Jesuits  Triumphant. 

PouTRiNCOURT,  we  have  seen,  owned  Port  Royal  in 
virtue  of  a  grant  from  De  Monts.  The  ardent  and 
adventurous  baron  was  in  evil  case,  involved  in  liti- 
gation and  low  in  purse ;  but  notliing  could  damp  his 
zeal.  Acadia  must  become  a  new  France,  and  he, 
Poutrincoui't,  must  be  its  father.  He  gained  from 
the  King  a  confirmation  of  his  grant,  and,  to  supply 
the  lack  of  his  own  weakened  resources,  associated 
with  himself  one  Robin,  a  man  of  family  and  wealth. 
This  did  not  save  him  from  a  host  of  delays  and  vexa- 
tions; and  it  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1610  that  he 
found  himself  in  a  condition  to  embark  on  liis  new 
and  doubtful  venture. 

Meanwhile  an  influence,  of  sinister  omen  as  he 
thought,  had  begun  to  act  upon  his  schemes.  The 
Jesuits  were  strong  at  court.  One  of  their  number, 
the  famous  Father  Coton,  was  confessor  to  Henry 
the  Fourth,  and,   on  matters  of  this  world  as  of  the 


100    THE  JESUITS   AND   THEIR   PATRONESS.    [1610. 

next,  was  ever  whispering  at  the  facile  ear  of  the 
renegade  King.  New  France  offered  a  fresh  field  of 
action  to  the  indefatigable  Society  of  Jesus,  and 
Coton  urged  upon  the  royal  convert,  that,  for  the 
savinfr  of  souls,  some  of  its  members  should  be 
attached  to  the  proposed  enterprise.  The  King,  pro- 
foundly indifferent  in  matters  of  religion,  saw  no  evil 
in  a  proposal  which  at  least  promised  to  place  the 
Atlantic  betwixt  him  and  some  of  those  busy  friends 
whom  at  heart  he  deeply  mistrusted.  ^  Other  influ- 
ences, too,  seconded  the  confessor.  Devout  ladies  of 
the  court,  and  the  Queen  herself,  supplying  the  lack 
of  virtue  mth  an  overflowing  piety,  burned,  we  are 
assured,  -with  a  holy  zeal  for  snatching  the  tribes  of 
the  West  from  the  bondage  of  Satan.  Therefore  it 
was  insisted  that  the  projected  colony  should  combine 
the  spiritual  with  the  temporal  character,  —  or,  in 
other  words,  that  Poutrincourt  should  take  Jesuits 
with  him.  Pierre  Biard,  Professor  of  Theology  at 
Lyons,  was  named  for  the  mission,  and  repaired  in 
haste  to  Bordeaux,  the  port  of  embarkation,  where 
he  found  no  vessel,  and  no  sign  of  preparation;  and 
here,  in  wrath  and  discomfiture,  he  remained  for  a 
whole  year. 

That  Poutrincourt  was  a  good  Catholic  appears 
from  a  letter  to  the  Pope,  written  for  him  in  Latin  by 
Lescarbot,  asking  a  blessing  on   his  enterprise,  and 

^  The  missionary  Biard  makes  the  characteristic  assertion,  that  the 
King  initiated  the  Jesuit  project,  and  that  Father  Coton  merely  obeyed 
his  orders.     Biard,  Relation,  c.  11. 


1610.]      POUTRTNCOURT  SAILS  FOR  AG4.DIA.        TOl 

assuring  his  Holiness  that  one  of  his  grand  objects 
was  the  saving  of  souls.  ^  But,  like  other  good  citi- 
zens, he  belonged  to  the  national  party  in  the  Church, 
—  those  liberal  Catholics,  who,  side  by  side  with  the 
Huguenots,  had  made  head  against  the  League,  with 
its  Spanish  allies,  and  placed  Henry  the  Fourth  upon 
the  throne.  The  Jesuits,  an  order  Spanish  in  origin 
and  policy,  determined  champions  of  ultramontane 
principles,  the  sword  and  shield  of  the  Papacy  in  its 
broadest  pretensions  to  spiritual  and  temporal  sway, 
were  to  him,  as  to  others  of  his  party,  objects  of  deep 
dislike  and  distrust.  He  feared  them  in  his  colony, 
evaded  what  he  dared  not  refuse,  left  Biard  waiting 
in  solitude  at  Bordeaux,  and  sought  to  postpone  the 
evil  day  by  assuring  Father  Coton  that,  though  Port 
Royal  was  at  present  in  no  state  to  receive  the  mis- 
sionaries, preparation  should  be  made  to  entertain 
them  the  next  year  after  a  befitting  fashion. 

Poutrincourt  owned  the  barony  of  St.  Just  in 
Champagne,  inherited  a  few  years  before  from  his 
mother.  Hence,  early  in  Februar}^,  1610,  he  set  out 
in  a  boat  loaded  to  the  gunwales  with  provisions, 
furniture,  goods,  and  munitions  for  Port  Royal, 
descended  the  rivers  Aube  and  Seine,  and  reached 
Dieppe  safely  with  his  charge.^  Here  his  ship  was 
awaiting  him;  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  February 
he  set  sail,  giving  the  slip  to  the  indignant  Jesuit  at 
Bordeaux. 

1  See  Lescarbot  (1618),  605. 

2  Lescarbot,  Relation  Derniere,  6.  This  is  a  pamphlet  of  thirty-nln© 
pages,  containing  matters  not  included  in  the  larger  work. 


102. THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  PATRONESS.   [1610. 

Tlie  tedium  of  a  long  passage  was  unpleasantly 
broken  l)y  a  mutiny  among  the  creAv.  It  was  sup- 
pressed, however,  and  Poutrincourt  entered  at  length 
the  familiar  basin  of  Port  Royal.  The  buildings  were 
still  standing,  whole  and  sound  save  a  partial  falling 
in  of  the  roofs.  Even  furniture  was  found  untouched 
in  the  deserted  chambers.  The  centenarian  Mem- 
bertou  was  still  alive,  his  leathern,  wrinkled  visage 
beaming  with  welcome. 

Poutrincourt  set  himself  without  delay  to  the  task 
of  Christianizing  New  France,  in  an  access  of  zeal 
which  his  desire  of  proving  that  Jesuit  aid  was  super- 
fluous may  be  supposed  largely  to  have  reinforced. 
He  had  a  priest  with  him,  one  La  Fleche,  whom  he 
urged  to  the  pious  work.  No  time  was  lost.  Mem- 
bertou  first  was  catechised,  confessed  his  sins,  and 
renounced  the  Devil,  whom  we  are  told  he  had  faith- 
fully served  during  a  hundred  and  ten  years.  His 
squaws,  liis  cliildi'en,  liis  grandchildren,  and  his  entire 
clan  were  next  won  over.  It  was  in  June,  the  day 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  when  the  naked  prosel3i;es, 
twenty-one  in  number,  were  gathered  on  the  shore  at 
Port  Royal.  Here  was  the  priest  in  the  vestments  of 
liis  office;  here  w'ere  gentlemen  in  gay  attire,  soldiere, 
laborers,  lackeys,  all  the  infant  colony.  The  con- 
verts kneeled ;  the  sacred  rite  was  finished,  Te  Beum 
was  siuig,  and  the  roar  of  cannon  proclaimed  this 
triumph  over  the  powers  of  darkness.  ^  Membertou 
was   named    Henri,    after   the    King;    liis    principal 

^  Lescarbot,  Relation  Demiere,  11. 


1610.]  BIEXCOURT.  103 

squaw,  Marie,  after  the  Queen.  One  of  his  sons 
received  the  name  of  the  Pope,  another  that  of  the 
Dauphin;  his  daughter  was  called  ^Marguerite,  after 
the  divorced  Marguerite  de  Valois,  and,  in  like 
manner,  the  rest  of  the  squalid  company  exchanged 
their  barbaric  appellatives  for  the  names  of  princes, 
nobles,  and  ladies  of  rank.^ 

The  fame  of  tliis  chef-cVmuvre  of  Christian  piety,  as 
Lescarbot  gravely  calls  it,  spread  far  and  wide 
through  the  forest,  wliose  denizens,  —  partly  out  of  a 
notion  that  the  rite  would  bring  good  luck,  partly  to 
please  the  French,  and  partly  to  share  in  the  good 
cheer  with  which  the  apostolic  efforts  of  Father  La 
Fleche  had  been  sagaciously  seconded  —  came  flock- 
ing to  enroll  themselves  under  the  bannei-s  of  the 
Faitli.  Their  zeal  ran  high.  They  would  take  no 
refusal.  ]\Iembertou  was  for  war  on  all  who  would 
not  turn  Christian.  A  living  skeleton  was  seen  crawl- 
ing from  hut  to  hut  in  search  of  the  priest  and  his 
saving  watere ;  while  another  neophyte,  at  the  point 
of  death,  asked  anxiously  whether,  in  the  realms  of 
bliss  to  which  he  was  bound,  pies  were  to  be  had  com- 
parable to  those  with  which  the  French  regaled  him. 

A  formal  register  of  baptisms  was  dra\\'n  up  to  be 
carried  to  France  in  the  returning  ship,  of  which 
Poutrincourt's  son,  Biencourt,  a  spirited  youth  of 
eighteen,  was  to  take  charge.  He  sailed  in  July,  his 
father  keeping  him  company  as  far  as  Port  la  HSve, 
whence,  bidding  the  yoimg  man  farewell,  he  attempted 

*  Regitre  de  Bapteme  de  I'Eglise  du  Port  Royal  en  la  Noufelle  France. 


104   THE  JESUITS  AND   THEIR  PATRONESS.   [1610. 

to  return  in  an  open  boat  to  Port  Royal.  A  north 
wand  blew  him  out  to  sea;  and  for  six  days  he  was 
out  of  sight  of  land,  subsisting  on  rain-water  wrung 
from  the  boat's  sail,  and  on  a  few  wild-fowl  which  he 
had  shot  on  an  island.  Five  weeks  passed  before  he 
could  rejoin  his  colonists,  who,  despairing  of  his 
safety,  were  about  to  choose  a  new  chief. 
.  Meanwhile,  young  Biencourt,  speeding  on  his  way, 
heard  dire  news  from  a  fisherman  on  the  Grand  Bank. 
The  knife  of  Ravaillac  had  done  its  work.  Henry 
the  Fourth  was  dead. 

There  is  an  ancient  street  in  Paris,  where  a  great 
thoroughfare  contracts  to  a  narrow  pass,  the  Rue  de 
la  Ferronnerie.  Tall  buildings  overshadow  it,  packed 
from  pavement  to  tiles  wdth  human  life,  and  from  the 
dingy  front  of  one  of  them  the  sculptured  head  of  a 
man  looks  down  on  the  throng  that  ceaselessly  defiles 
beneath.  On  the  fourteenth  of  May,  1610,  a  pon- 
derous coach,  studded  with  fleurs-de-lis  and  rich  with 
gilding,  rolled  along  this  street.  In  it  was  a  small 
man,  well  advanced  in  life,  whose  profile  once  seen 
could  not  be  forgotten,  —  a  hooked  nose,  a  protrud- 
ing chin,  a  brow  full  of  wrinkles,  grizzled  hair,  a 
short,  grizzled  beard,  and  stiff,  gray  moustaches, 
bristling  like  a  cat's.  One  would  have  thought  him 
some  whiskered  satyr,  grim  from  the  rack  of  tumultu- 
ous yeai-s ;  but  his  alert,  upright  port  bespoke  unshaken 
vigor,  and  his  clear  eye  was  full  of  buoyant  life. 
Following  on  the  footway  strode  a  tall,  strong,  and 
somewhat  corpulent  man,  with  sinister,  deep-set  eyes 


1610.]         ASSASSINATION  OF  HENRY  IV.  105 

and  a  red  beard,  his  arm  and  shoulder  covered  with 
his  cloak.  In  the  throat  of  the  thoroughfare,  where 
the  sculptured  image  of  Henry  the  Fourth  still  guards 
the  spot,  a  collision  of  two  carts  stopped  the  coach. 
Ravaillac  quickened  his  pace.  In  an  instant  he  was 
at  the  door.  With  his  cloak  dropped  from  his 
shoulders,  and  a  long  knife  in  his  hand,  he  set  his 
foot  upon  a  guardstone,  thrust  his  head  and  shoulders 
into  the  coach,  and  with  frantic  force  stabbed  thrice 
at  the  King's  heart.  A  broken  exclamation,  a  gasp- 
ing convulsion,  —  and  then  the  grim  visage  drooped 
on  the  bleeding  breast.  Henry  breathed  his  last, 
and  the  hope  of  Europe  died  with  him. 

The  omens  were  sinister  for  Old  France  and  for 
New.  Marie  de  Medicis,  "cette  grosse  banquiere," 
coarse  scion  of  a  bad  stock,  false  wife  and  faithless 
queen,  paramour  of  an  intriguing  foreigner,  tool  of 
the  Jesuits  and  of  Spain,  was  Regent  in  the  minority 
of  her  imbecile  son.  The  Huguenots  drooped,  the 
national  party  collapsed,  the  vigorous  hand  of  Sully 
was  felt  no  more,  and  the  treasure  gathered  for  a 
vast  and  beneficent  enterprise  became  the  instrument 
of  despotism  and  the  prey  of  corruption.  Under 
such  dark  auspices,  young  Biencourt  entered  the 
thronged  chambers  of  the  Louvi'e. 

He  gained  audience  of  the  Queen,  and  displayed 
his  list  of  baptisms;  while  the  ever  present  Jesuits 
failed  not  to  seize  him  by  the  button,  ^  assuring  him, 

^  Lescarbot,  (1618,)  662:  "...  uemanqu^rent  de  I'empoigner  par 
lea  cheveux." 


km;    I'IIK  JESUITS  AND   THEIR  PATRONESS.   [1610. 

IK  it  only  that  the  late  King  had  deeply  at  heart  the 
estahlishment  of  their  Society  in  Acadia,  but  that  to 
tliis  end  he  had  made  them  a  grant  of  two  thousand 
livres  a  year.  The  Jesuits  had  found  an  ally  and  the 
intended  mission  a  friend  at  court,  whose  story  and 
whose  character  are  too  striking  to  pass  imnoticed. 

This  was  a  lady  of  honor  to  the  Queen,  Antoinette 
de  Pons,  Marquise  de  Guercheville,  once  renowned 
for  grace  and  beauty,  and  not  less  conspicuous  for 
qualities  rare  in  the  imbridled  court  of  Henry's  pre- 
decessor, where  her  youth  had  been  passed.  When 
the  civil  war  was  at  its  height,  the  royal  heart,  leap- 
ing with  insatiable  restlessness  from  battle  to  battle, 
from  mistress  to  mistress,  had  found  a  brief  repose  in 
the  affections  of  his  Corisande,  famed  in  tradition 
and  romance;  but  Corisande  was  suddenly  abandoned, 
and  the  young  widow,  Madame  de  Guercheville, 
became  the  load-star  of  his  erratic  fancy.  It  was  an 
evil  hour  for  the  Bdarnais.  Henry  sheathed  in  rusty 
steel,  battling  for  liis  crown  and  his  life,  and  Henry 
rolled  in  royalty  and  throned  triumphant  in  the 
Louvi-e,  alike  urged  their  suit  in  vain.  Unused  to 
defeat,  the  King's  passion  rose  higher  for  the  obstacle 
that  barred  it.  On  one  occasion  he  was  met  with  an 
answer  not  unworthy  of  record:  — 

"Sire,  my  rank,  perhaps,  is  not  high  enough  to 
permit  me  to  be  your  wife,  but  my  heart  is  too  high 
to  permit  me  to  be  your  mistress."  ^ 

1  A  similar  reply  is  attributed  to  Catherine  de  Rohan,  Duchesse  de 
Deux-Ponts  :  "  Je  suis  trop  pauvre  pour  etre  votre  femme,  et  de  trop 


1610.]  MADAME   DE   GUERCHEVILLE.  107 

She  left  the  court  and  retired  to  her  chateau  of  La 
Roche-Guyon,  on  the  Seine,  ten  leagues  below  Paris, 
where,  fond  of  magnificence,  she  is  said  to  have  lived 
in  much  expense  and  splendor.  The  indefatigalile 
King,  haunted  by  her  memory,  made  a  hunting-party 
in  the  neighboring  forests;  and,  as  evening  drew 
near,  separating  himself  from  his  courtiers,  he  sent 
a  gentleman  of  his  train  to  ask  of  Madame  de 
Guercheville  the  shelter  of  her  roof.  The  reply  con- 
veyed a  dutiful  acknowledgment  of  the  honor,  and  an 
offer  of  the  best  entertainment  within  her  power.  It 
was  night  when  Henry,  with  his  little  band  of  horee- 
men,  approached  the  chateau,  where  lights  were 
burning  in  every  window,  after  a  fashion  of  the  day 
on  occasions  of  welcome  to  an  honored  guest.  Pages 
stood  in  the  gateway,  each  witli  a  blazing  torch ;  and 
here,  too,  were  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood, 
gathered  to  greet  their  sovereign.  Madame  de 
Guercheville  came  forth,  followed  by  the  women  of 
her  household;  and  when  the  King,  unprepared  for 
so  benign  a  welcome,  giddy  with  love  and  hope,  saw 
her  radiant  in  pearls  and  more  radiant  yet  in  a  beaut}'- 
enhanced  by  the  wav}'  torchlight  and  the  surrounding 
shadows,  he  scarcely  dared  trust  liis  senses :  — 

"  Que  vois- je,  madame ;  est-ce  bien  vous,  et  suis- je 
ce  roi  mdpris^?" 

He  gave  her  his  hand,  and  she  led  him  within  the 
chateau,  where,  at  the  door  of  the  apartment  destined 

bonne  maison  pour  etre  votre  maitresse."     Her  suitor  also  was  Henry 
the  Fourth.     Dictionnairc  de  Bayle,  111.  2182. 


108   THE  JESUITS   AND   THEIR  PATRONESS.    [1610. 

for  liiiii,  she  left  him,  with  a  graceful  reverence. 
The  King,  nowise  disconcerted,  did  not  doubt  that 
she  had  gone  to  give  orders  for  his  entertainment, 
when  an  attendant  came  to  tell  him  that  she  had 
descended  to  the  courtyard  and  called  for  her  coach. 
Thither  he  hastened  in  alarm :  — 

"What!  am  I  driving  you  from  your  house?" 
"Sire,"  replied  Madame  de  Guercheville,   "where 
a  king  is,  he  should  be  the  sole  master ;  but,  for  my 
part,  I  like  to  preserve  some  little  authority  wherever 
I  may  be." 

With  another  deep  reverence,  she  entered  her 
coach  and  disappeared,  seeking  shelter  under  the  roof 
of  a  friend,  some  two  leagues  off,  and  leaving  the 
baffled  King  to  such  consolation  as  he  might  find  in 
a  magnificent  repast,  bereft  of  the  presence  of  the 
hostess.^ 

1  MSmoires  de  l'Abb€de  Choisy,  Liv.  XII.  The  elaborate  notices  of 
Madame  de  Guercheville  in  the  Biographie  Generale  and  the  Biographie 
Universelle  are  from  this  source.  She  figures  under  the  name  of 
Scilinde  in  Les  Amours  du  Grand  Alr.andre  (Henry  IV.).  See  Collection 
Petitot,  LXIII.  515,  note,  where  the  passage  is  extracted. 

The  Abbe'  de  Choisy  says  that  when  the  King  was  enamoured  of  her 
she  was  married  to  M.  de  Liancourt.  This,  it  seems,  is  a  mistake,  this 
second  marriage  not  taking  place  till  1594.  Madame  de  Guercheville 
refused  to  take  the  name  of  Liancourt,  because  it  had  once  been  borne 
by  the  Duchesse  de  Beaufort,  who  had  done  it  no  honor,  —  a  scruple 
very  reasonably  characterized  by  her  biographer  as  "  trop  affecte'." 

The  following  is  De  Choisy's  account :  — 

"  Entin  ce  prince  s'avisa  un  jour,  pour  derniere  ressource,  de  faire 
uno  partie  de  chasse  du  cote'  de  La  Roche-Guyon  ;  et,  sur  la  fin  de  la 
journc'e,  s'c'tant  sc'pare'  de  la  plupart  de  ses  courtisans,  il  envoya  un 
pentilhomme  k  La  Roche-Guyon  demander  le  couvert  pour  une  nuit. 
Madame  de  Guercheville,  sans  s'embarrasser,  re'pondit  au  gentilhomme, 


1610.]  MADAME   DE   GUERCHEVILLE.  109 

Henry  could  admire  the  virtue  which  he  could  not 
vanquisli;  and,  long  after,  on  his  marriage,  he 
acknowledged  his  sense  of  her  worth  by  begging  her 
to  accept  an  honorable  post  near  the  person  of  the 
Queen. 

"Madame,"  he  said,  presenting  her  to  Marie  de 
Medicis,  "  I  give  you  a  lady  of  honor  who  is  a  lady  of 
honor  indeed." 

Some  twenty  years  had  passed  since  the  adventure 
of  La  Roche-Guyon.  Madame  de  Guercheville  had 
outlived  the  charms  wliich  had  attracted  her  royal 

que  le  Roi  lui  feroit  beaucoup  d'honneur,  et  qu'elle  le  recevroit  de  son 
mieux.  En  effet,  elle  donua  ordre  h,  un  magnifique  souper  ;  on  eclaira 
toutes  les  fenetres  du  chateau  avec  des  torclies  (c'etoit  la  mode  en  ce 
temps-la) ;  elle  se  para  de  ses  plus  beaux  habits,  se  couvrit  de  pedes 
(c'e'toit  aussi  la  mode) ;  et  lorsque  le  Hoi  arriva  k  I'entree  de  la  nuit, 
elle  alia  le  recevoir  a  la  porte  de  sa  maisou,  accompagne'e  de  toutee  ses 
femmes,  et  de  quelques  geutilshoinmes  du  voisiuage.  Des  pages  por- 
toieut  les  torches  devant  elle.  Le  Roi,  transporte  de  joie,  la  trouva 
plus  belle  que  jamais  :  les  ombres  de  la  nuit,  la  lumiere  des  flambeaux, 
les  diamaus,  la  surprise  d'un  accueil  si  favorable  et  si  peu  accoutum^, 
tout  coutribuait  a  renouveler  ses  anciennes  blessures.  '  Que  vois-je, 
madame  ?  '  lui  dit  ce  monarque  tremblant ;  '  est-ce  bien  vous,  et  suis-je 
ce  roi  m(?prise  ? '  Madame  de  Guercheville  I'interrompit,  en  le  priant 
de  monter  dans  sou  appartement  pour  se  reposer.  II  lui  donna  la 
maiu.  Elle  le  couduisit  jusqu'a  la  porte  de  sa  chambre,  lui  fit  une 
grande  re'verence,  et  se  retira.  Le  Roi  ne  s'en  ctonna  pas;  il  crut 
qu'elle  vouloit  aller  donner  ordre  a  la  fete  qu'elle  lui  preparoit.  Mais 
il  fut  bien  surpris  quand  on  lui  vint  dire  qu'elle  etoit  descendue  dans 
sa  cour,  et  qu'elle  avoit  crie  tout  haut :  Qu'on  attelle  mon  coche ! 
comme  pour  aller  coucher  hors  de  chez  elle.  II  descendit  aussitot, 
et  tout  eperdu  lui  dit :  '  Quoi !  madame,  je  vous  chasserai  de  votre 
maisou  ( '  '  Sire,'  lui  re'pondit-ello  d'un  ton  ferme,  '  un  roi  doit  etre  le 
maitre  partout  ou  il  est ;  et  pour  moi,  je  suis  bien  aise  d'avoir  quelque 
pouvoir  dans  les  lieux  oil  je  me  trouve.'  Et,  sans  vouloir  I'ecouter 
davantage,  elle  monta  dans  son  coche,  et  alia  coucher  k  deux  lieuea 
de  \k  chez  une  de  ses  amies." 


110  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  PATRONESS.     [IGIO. 

suitor,  but  the  virtue  which  repelled  him  was  rein- 
forced by  a  devotion  no  less  uncompromising.  A 
rosary  in  her  hand  and  a  Jesuit  at  her  side,  she  real- 
ized the  utmost  wishes  of  the  subtle  fathers  who  had 
moulded  and  who  guided  her.  She  readily  took  fire 
when  they  told  her  of  the  benighted  souls  of  New 
France,  and  the  wrongs  of  Father  Biard  kindled  her 
utmost  indignation.  She  declared  herself  the  pro- 
tectress of  the  American  missions;  and  the  only 
difficulty,  as  a  Jesuit  writer  tells  us,  was  to  restrain 
her  zeal  within  reasonable  bounds.^ 

She  had  two  illustrious  coadjutors.  The  first  was 
the  jealous  Queen,  whose  unbridled  rage  and  vulgar 
clamor  had  made  the  Louvre  a  hell.  The  second 
was  Henriette  d'Entragues,  Marquise  de  Verneuil, 
the  crafty  and  capricious  siren  who  had  awakened 
these  conjugal  tempests.  To  this  singular  coalition 
were  joined  many  other  ladies  of  the  court;  for  the 
pious  flame,  fanned  by  the  Jesuits,  spread  through 
hall  and  boudoir,  and  fair  votaries  of  the  Loves  and 
Graces  found  it  a  more  grateful  task  to  win  heaven 
for  the  heathen  than  to  merit  it  for  themselves. 

Young  Biencourt  saw  it  vain  to  resist.  Biard  must 
go  %vith  him  in  the  returning  ship,  and  also  another 
Jesuit,  Enemond  Masse.  The  two  fathers  repaired 
to  Dieppe,  wafted  on  the  wind  of  court  favor,  wliich 
they  never  doubted  would  bear  them  to  their  journey's 
end.  Not  so,  however.  Poutrincourt  and  his  asso- 
ciates, in  the  dearth  of  their  own  resources,  had  bar- 

1  Charlevoix,  I.  122. 


1610.]  BIARD   AND   MASSE.  Ill 

gained  with  two  Huguenot  merchants  of  Dieppe,  Du 
Jardin  and  Du  Quesne,  to  equip  and  load  the  vessel, 
in  consideration  of  their  becoming  partners  in  the 
expected  profits.  Their  indignation  was  extreme 
when  they  saw  the  intended  passengers.  They 
declared  that  they  would  not  aid  in  building  up  a 
colony  for  the  profit  of  the  King  of  Spain,  nor  risk 
their  money  in  a  venture  where  Jesuits  were  allowed 
to  intermeddle ;  and  they  closed  mth  a  flat  refusal  to 
receive  them  on  board,  unless,  they  added  with 
patriotic  sarcasm,  the  Queen  would  direct  them  to 
transport  the  whole  order  beyond  sea.^  Biard  and 
Masse  insisted,  on  which  the  merchants  demanded 
reimbursement  for  their  outlay,  as  they  would  have 
no  fui'ther  concern  in  the  business. 

Biard  communicated  with  Father  Coton,  Father 
Coton  with  Madame  de  Guercheville.  No  more  was 
needed.  The  zealous  lady  of  honor,  "indignant," 
says  Biard,  "to  see  the  efforts  of  hell  prevail,"  and 
resolved  "  that  Satan  should  not  remain  master  of  the 
field,"  set  on  foot  a  subscription,  and  raised  an  ample 
fund  within  the  precincts  of  the  court.  Biard,  in 
the  name  of  the  "  Province  of  France  of  the  Order  of 
Jesus,"  bought  out  the  interest  of  the  two  merchants 
for  thirty-eight  hundred  livres,  thus  constituting  the 
Jesuits  equal  partners  in  business  with  their  enemies. 
Nor  was  this  all;  for,  out  of  the  ample  proceeds  of 
the  subscription,  he  lent  to  the  needy  associates  a 
further  sum  of  seven  hundi-ed  and  tliirty-seven  livres, 

1  Lescarbot  (1618),  664. 


112  THE  JESUITS  AND  THEIR  PATRONESS.    [1611. 

and  advanced  twelve  hundred  and  twenty-five  more 
to  complete  the  outfit  of  the  ship.  Well  pleased,  the 
triumphant  priests  now  embarked,  and  friend  and  foe 
set  sail  together  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  January, 
1611.1 

1  Contract  d' Association  des  Jesuites  au  Trajique  du  Canada,  20  Jan., 
161 1  ;  a  certified  copy  of  the  original  parchment.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
the  first  contract  of  the  French  Jesuits  in  America  relates  to  a  partner- 
ship to  carry  on  the  fur-trade.  Compare  Lescarbot  (1618),  665 ;  Biard, 
Relation,  c.  12;  Champlain  (1632),  100;  Charlevoix,  I.  123;  De  Laet, 
Lib.  II.  c.  21 ;  Lettre  du  P.  Pierre  Biard  au  T.  R.  P.  Claude  Aguaviva, 
General  de  la  Compaynie  de  Jesus  d  Rome,  Dieppe,  21  Jan.,  1611 ;  Lettre 
du  P.  Biard  au  R.  P.  Christophe  Balthazar,  Provincial  de  France  a 
Paris,  Port  Royal,  10  Juin,  1611;  Lettre  du  P.  Baird  au  T.  R.  P.  Claude 
Aquaviva,  Port  Royal,  31  Jan.  1612.  These  letters  form  part  of  an  in- 
teresting collection  recently  published  by  R.  P.  Auguste  Carayon,  S.  J., 
under  the  title  Premiere  Mission  des  Jesuites  au  Canada  (Paris,  1864). 
Th«y  are  taken  from  the  Jesuit  archives  at  Rome. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1611,  1612. 

JESUITS  m  ACADIA. 

The  Jesuits  arrive.  —  Collision  of  Powers  Temporal  and 
Spiritual.  —  Excursion  of  Biencourt.  —  Biard's  Indian 
Studies.  —  Misery  at  Port  Royal.  —  Grant  to   Madame   db 

GUERCHEVILLE.  —  GiLBERT     DU    ThET. QuARRELS.  —  ANATHE- 
MAS.—  Truce. 

The  voyage  was  one  of  inordinate  length,  —  beset, 
too,  with  icebergs,  larger  and  taller,  according  to  the 
Jesuit  voyagers,  than  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame; 
but  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  their  ship,  "  The  Grace 
of  God,"  anchored  before  Port  Royal.  Then  first 
were  seen  in  the  "wilderness  of  New  France  the  close 
black  cap,  the  close  black  robe,  of  the  Jesuit  father, 
and  the  features  seamed  with  study  and  thought  and 
discipline.  Then  first  did  this  mighty  Proteus,  this 
many-colored  Society  of  Jesus,  enter  upon  that  rude 
field  of  toil  and  woe,  where,  in  after  yeai-s,  the 
devoted  zeal  of  its  apostles  was  to  lend  dignity  to 
their  order  and  do  honor  to  humanity. 

Few  were  the  regions  of  the  kno\vn  world  to  which 
the  potent  brotherhood  had  not  stretched  the  vast 
network  of  its  influence.  Jesuits  had  disputed  in 
theology   with    the    bonzes    of    Japan,    and    taught 

vol.  il  —  8 


114  JESUITS  IN  ACADIA.  [1011. 

iistrojioiny  to  the  mandarins  of  China;  had  wrought 
prodigies  of  sudden  conversion  among  the  followers  of 
Brahma,  preached  the  papal  supremacy  to  Abyssinian 
schismatics,  carried  the  cross  among  the  savages  of 
Caffraria,  wrought  reputed  miracles  in  Brazil,  and 
gathered  the  tribes  of  Paraguay  beneath  their 
paternal  sway.  And  now,  with  the  aid  of  the  Virgin 
and  her  votary  at  court,  they  would  bmld  another 
empire  among  the  tribes  of  New  France.  The  omens 
were  sinister  and  the  outset  was  unpropitious.  The 
Society  was  destined  to  reap  few  laurels  from  the 
brief  apostleship  of  Biard  and  IMasse. 

When  the  voyagers  landed,  they  found  at  Port 
Royal  a  band  of  half-famished  men,  eagerly  expecting 
their  succor.  The  voj^age  of  four  months  had,  how- 
ever, nearly  exhausted  their  own  very  moderate  stock 
of  provisions,  and  the  mutual  congratulations  of  the 
old  colonists  and  the  new  were  damped  by  a  vision  of 
starvation.  A  friction,  too,  speedily  declared  itself 
between  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal  powers. 
Pontgrav^'s  son,  then  trading  on  the  coast,  had 
exasperated  the  Indians  by  an  outrage  on  one  of  their 
women,  and,  (beading  the  wrath  of  Poutrincourt, 
had  fled  to  the  woods.  Biard  saw  fit  to  take  liis  part, 
remonstrated  for  him  with  vehemence,  gained  his 
pardon,  received  his  confession,  and  absolved  liim. 
The  Jesuit  says  that  he  was  treated  with  great  con- 
sideration by  Poutrincourt,  and  that  he  should  be 
forever  beholden  to  him.  The  latter,  however,  chafed 
at  Biard's  interference. 


1611.]  EXCURSION   OF  BIENCOURT.  116 

"  Father, "  he  said,  "  I  know  my  duty,  and  I  beg 
you  will  leave  me  to  do  it.  I,  vnih  my  sword,  have 
hopes  of  paradise,  as  well  as  you  with  your  breviary. 
Show  me  my  path  to  heaven.  I  ^^'ill  show  you  youi-s 
on  earth."  1 

He  soon  set  sail  for  France,  leaAdng  Ids  son 
Biencourt  in  charge.  This  hardy  young  sailor,  of 
ability  and  character  beyond  his  years,  had,  on  his 
visit  to  court,  received  the  post  of  Vice-Admiral  in 
the  seas  of  New  France,  and  in  this  capacity  had  a 
certain  authority  over  the  trading-vessels  of  St.  Male 
and  Rochelle,  several  of  which  were  upon  the  coast. 
To  compel  the  recognition  of  this  authority,  and  also 
to  purchase  provisions,  he  set  out  along  with  Biard  in 
a  boat  filled  "with  armed  followers.  His  first  collision 
was  with  young  Pontgrav6,  who  with  a  few  men  had 
built  a  trading-hut  on  the  St.  Jolin,  where  he  pro- 
posed to  Avinter.  Meeting  with  resistance,  Biencourt 
took  the  whole  party  prisoners,  in  spite  of  the  remon- 
strances of  Biard.  Next,  proceeding  along  the  coast, 
he  levied  tribute  on  four  or  five  tradei-s  winterinof  at 
St.  Croix,  and,  continuing  liis  course  to  the  Kennebec, 
found  the  Indians  of  that  region  greatly  enraged  at 
the  conduct  of  certain  English  adventurere,  who 
three  or  four  yeare  before  had,  as  they  said,  set  dogs 
upon  them  and  otherwise  maltreated  them.  These 
were  the  colonists  under  Popham  and  Gilbert,  who  in 
1607   and  1608  made  an  abortive  attempt  to  settle 

1  Lescarbot,  (1618,)  669.  Compare  Biard,  Relation,  c.  14;  aud 
Biard,  Leltre  au  M.  P.  Christofihe  Balthazar,  iu  Carayou,  9 


IIG  JESUITS  IN  ACADIA.  [1611. 

near  tlic  mouth  of  the  river.  Nothing  now  was  left 
of  them  but  tlieir  deserted  fort.  The  neighboring 
Indians  were  Abenakis,  one  of  the  tribes  included  by 
the  French  under  the  general  name  of  Armouchiquois. 
Their  disposition  was  doubtful,  and  it  needed  all  the 
coolness  of  young  Biencourt  to  avoid  a  fatal  collision. 
On  one  occasion  a  curious  incident  took  place.  The 
French  met  six  canoes  full  of  warriors  descending  the 
Kennebec,  and,  as  neither  party  trusted  the  other, 
the  two  encamped  on  opposite  banks  of  the  river.  In 
the  evening  the  Indians  began  to  sing  and  dance. 
Biard  suspected  these  proceedings  to  be  an  invocation 
of  the  Devil,  and  "in  order,"  he  says,  "to  thwart 
this  accursed  tyrant,  I  made  our  people  sing  a  few 
church  hymns,  such  as  the  Salve^  the  Ave  Maris 
Stella,  and  others.  But  being  once  in  train,  and 
getting  to  the  end  of  their  spiritual  songs,  they  fell 
to  singing  such  others  as  they  knew,  and  when  these 
gave  out  they  took  to  mimicking  the  dancing  and 
singing  of  the  Armouchiquois  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water;  and  as  Frenchmen  are  natui'ally  good  mimics, 
they  did  it  so  well  that  the  Armouchiquois  stopped  to 
listen;  at  which  our  people  stopped  too;  and  then 
the  Indians  began  again.  You  would  have  laughed 
to  hear  them,  for  they  were  like  two  choirs  answering 
each  other  in  concert,  and  you  would  hardly  have 
known  the  real  Armouchiquois  from  the  sham  ones." 

Before  the  capture  of  young  Pontgravd,  Biard  made 
him  a  visit  at  his  camp,  six  leagues  up  the  St.  John. 
Pontgrav^'s  men  were  sailors  from  St.  Malo,  between 


1611.]  MEMBERTOU.  117 

whom  and  the  other  Frenchmen  there  was  much  ill 
blood.  Biard  had  hardly  entered  the  river  when  he 
saw  the  evening  sky  crimsoned  with  the  dancing  fii'es 
of  a  superb  aurora  ))orealis,  and  he  and  his  attendants 
marvelled  what  evil  thing  the  prodigy  might  portend. 
Their  Inchan  companions  said  that  it  was  a  sign  of 
war.  In  fact,  the  night  after  they  had  joined 
Pontgravd  a  furious  quarrel  broke  out  in  the  camp, 
with  abundant  shouting,  gesticulating,  and  swearing ; 
and,  says  the  father,  "  I  do  not  doubt  that  an  accursed 
band  of  furious  and  sanguinary  spirits  were  hovering 
about  us  all  night,  expecting  every  moment  to  see  a 
horrible  massacre  of  the  few  Christians  in  those  parts ; 
but  the  goodness  of  God  bridled  their  malice.  No 
blood  was  shed,  and  on  the  next  day  the  squall  ended 
in  a  fine  calm." 

He  did  not  like  the  Indians,  whom  he  describes  as 
"lazy,  gluttonous,  irreligious,  treacherous,  cruel,  and 
licentious."  He  makes  an  exception  in  favor  of 
Membertou,  whom  he  calls  "the  greatest,  most 
renowned,  and  most  redoubted  savage  that  ever  lived 
in  the  memory  of  man,"  and  especially  commends 
him  for  contenting  himself  with  but  one  wife,  hardly 
a  superlative  merit  in  a  centenarian.  Biard  taught 
him  to  say  the  Lord's  Prayer,  though  at  the  petition, 
"Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  the  chief  remon- 
strated, saying,  "If  I  ask  for  nothing  but  bread,  I 
shall  get  no  fish  or  moose-meat."  His  protracted 
career  was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  and,  being  brought 
to  the  settlement  in  a  dying  state,  he  was  placed  in 


118  JESUITS  IN  ACADIA.  [1611. 

Biard's  bed  and  attended  by  the  two  Jesuits.  He 
was  as  remarkal)le  in  person  as  in  character,  for  he 
was  bearded  Uke  a  Frenchman.  Though,  alone 
among  La  Fleche's  converts,  the  Faith  seemed  to 
have  left  some  impression  upon  him,  he  insisted  on 
being  buried  with  his  heathen  forefathers,  but  was 
persuaded  to  forego  a  wish  fatal  to  his  salvation,  and 
slept  at  last  in  consecrated  ground. 

Another  of  the  scanty  fruits  of  the  mission  was  a 
little  girl  on  the  point  of  death,  whom  Biard  had 
asked  her  parents  to  give  him  for  baptism.  "  Take 
her  and  keep  her,  if  you  like,"  was  the  reply,  "for 
she  is  no  better  than  a  dead  dog."  "We  accepted 
the  offer,"  says  Biard,  "in  order  to  show  them  the 
difference  between  Christianity  and  their  impiety; 
and  after  giving  her  what  care  we  could,  together 
with  some  instruction,  we  baptized  her.  We  named 
her  after  Madame  the  Marquise  de  Guercheville,  in 
gratitude  for  the  benefits  we  have  received  from  that 
lady,  who  can  now  rejoice  that  her  name  is  already 
in  heaven ;  for,  a  few  days  after  baptism,  the  chosen 
soul  flew  to  that  place  of  glory." 

Biard's  greatest  difficulty  was  with  the  Micmac 
language.  Young  Biencourt  was  his  best  interpreter, 
and  on  common  occasions  served  him  well;  but  the 
moment  that  religion  was  in  question  he  was,  as  it 
were,  stricken  dumb,  —  the  reason  being  that  the 
language  was  totally  without  abstract  terms.  Biard 
resolutely  set  himself  to  the  study  of  it,  —  a  hard 
and  thorny  path,  on  which  he  made  small  progress, 


1611.]  DISCORD.  —  DESPONDENCY.  119 

and  often  went  astray.  Seated,  pencil  in  hand, 
before  some  Indian  squatting  on  the  floor,  whom  with 
the  bribe  of  a  mouldy  biscuit  he  had  lured  into  the 
hut,  he  plied  him  with  questions  which  he  often 
neither  would  nor  could  answer.  Wliat  was  the 
Indian  word  for  Faith^  Hope^  Charity^  Sacrament^ 
Baptism^  Eucharist^  Trinity^  Incarnation  ?  The 
perplexed  savage,  willing  to  amuse  himself,  and 
impelled,  as  Biard  tliinks,  by  the  Devil,  gave  him 
scurrilous  and  unseemly  phrases  as  the  equivalent  of 
things  holy,  which,  studiously  incorporated  into  the 
father's  Indian  catechism,  produced  on  his  pupils  an 
effect  the  reverse  of  that  intended.  Biard's  col- 
league, Masse,  was  equally  zealous,  and  still  less 
fortunate.  He  tried  a  forest  life  among  the  Indians 
with  signal  ill  success.  Hard  fare,  smoke,  filth,  the 
scolding  of  squaws,  and  the  cries  of  children  reduced 
him  to  a  forlorn  condition  of  body  and  mind,  wore 
him  to  a  skeleton,  and  sent  him  back  to  Port  Royal 
without  a  single  convert. 

The  dark  months  wore  slowly  on.  A  ])and  of  half- 
famished  men  gathered  about  the  huge  fires  of  their 
barn-like  hall,  moody,  sullen,  and  quarrelsome. 
Discord  was  here  in  the  black  robe  of  the  Jesuit  and 
the  brown  capote  of  the  rival  trader.  The  position 
of  the  wretched  little  colony  may  well  provoke  reflec- 
tion. Here  lay  the  shaggy  continent,  from  Florida 
to  the  Pole,  outstretched  in  savage  slumber  along  the 
sea,  the  stern  domain  of  Nature,  —  or,  to  adopt  the 
ready  solution  of  the  Jesuits,  a  realm  of  the  powers 


120  JESUITS  IN  ACADIA.  [16ia 

of  night,  blasted  beneath  the  sceptre  of  hell.  On  the 
banks  of  James  River  was  a  nest  of  woe-begone  Eng- 
lishmen, a  handful  of  Dutch  fur-traders  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Hudson,!  ^nd  a  few  shivering  Frenchmen 
among  the  snow-di-if ts  of  Acadia ;  while  deep  within 
the  wild  monotony  of  desolation,  on  the  icy  verge  of 
tlie  great  northern  river,  the  hand  of  Champlain 
upheld  the  fleur-de-lis  on  the  rock  of  Quebec.  These 
were  the  advance  guard,  the  forlorn  hope  of  civiliza- 
tion, messengers  of  promise  to  a  desert  continent. 
Yet,  unconscious  of  their  high  function,  not  content 
with  inevitable  woes,  they  were  rent  by  petty  jeal- 
ousies and  miserable  feuds;  while  each  of  these 
detached  fragments  of  rival  nationalities,  scarcely 
able  to  maintain  its  own  wretched  existence  on  a  few 
square  miles,  begrudged  to  the  others  the  smallest 
share  in  a  domain  which  all  the  nations  of  Europe 
could  hardly  have  sufficed  to  fill. 

One  evening,  as  the  forlorn  tenants  of  Port  Royal 
sat  together  disconsolate,  Biard  was  seized  with  a 
spirit  of  prophecy.  He  called  upon  Biencourt  to 
serve  out  the  little  of  wine  that  remained,  —  a  pro- 
posal wliich  met  with  high  favor  from  the  company 
present,  though  apparently  with  none  from  the  youth- 
ful Vice-Admiral.  The  wine  was  ordered,  however, 
and,  as  an  unwonted  cheer  ran  round  the  circle,  the 
Jesuit  announced  that  an  inward  voice  told  him  how, 

^  It  is  not  certain  that  the  Dutch  had  any  permanent  trading-post 
here  before  1613,  when  they  had  four  houses  at  Manhattan.  O'Calla- 
ghan,  Hist.  New  Netherland,  I.  69. 


1612.]    GRANT   TO   MADAME   GUERCHEVILLE.       121 

within  a  month,  they  should  see  a  ship  from  France. 
In  truth,  they  saw  one  within  a  week.  On  the 
twenty-third  of  January,  1612,  arrived  a  small  vessel 
laden  with  a  moderate  store  of  provisions  and  abun- 
dant seeds  of  future  strife. 

This  was  the  expected  succor  sent  by  Poutrincourt. 
A  series  of  ruinous  voyages  had  exhausted  his 
resources  ,•  but  he  had  staked  all  on  the  success  of  the 
colony,  had  even  brought  his  family  to  Acadia,  and 
he  would  not  leave  them  and  his  companions  to 
perish.  1  His  credit  was  gone ;  his  hopes  were  dashed ; 
yet  assistance  was  proffered,  and,  in  his  extremity, 
he  was  forced  to  accept  it.  It  came  from  Madame 
de  Guercheville  and  her  Jesuit  advisers.  She  offered 
to  buy  the  interest  of  a  thousand  crowns  in  the  enter- 
prise. The  ill-omened  succor  could  not  be  refused; 
but  this  was  not  all.  The  zealous  protectress  of  the 
missions  obtained  from  De  Monts,  whose  fortunes, 
like  those  of  Poutrincourt,  had  ebbed  low,  a  transfer 
of  all  his  claims  to  the  lands  of  Acadia;  while  the 
young  King,  Louis  the  Thirteenth,  was  persuaded  to 
give  her,  in  addition,  a  new  grant  of  all  the  territory 
of  North  America,  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Florida. 
Thus  did  Madame  de  Guercheville,  or  in  other  words, 
the  Jesuits  who  used  her  name  as  a  cover,  become 
proprietors  of  the  greater  part  of  the  future  United 
States  and  British  Provinces.  The  English  colony 
of  Virginia   and  the  Dutch  trading-houses    of  New 

^  Biard,  Epistola  ex  Portu-regnli  in  Acadia,  1612.  Biard  says  there 
was  no  other  family  in  the  colony. 


122  .JESUITS  IN  ACADIA.  [1612. 

^'(tik  were  included  within  the  limits  of  this  destined 
Nortlicrn  Parar,niay;  while  Port  Royal,  the  seigniory 
of  the  unfortunate  Poutrincourt,  was  encompassed, 
like  a  petty  island,  hy  the  vast  domain  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  They  could  not  deprive  him  of  it,  since 
his  title  had  been  confirmed  by  the  late  King,  but 
they  flattered  themselves,  to  borrow  their  own  lan- 
guage, that  he  would  be  "confined  as  in  a  prison." i 
His  grant,  however,  had  been  vaguely  worded,  and, 
while  tliey  held  him  restricted  to  an  insignificant 
patch  of  ground,  he  claimed  lordship  over  a  wdde 
and  indefinite  territory.  Here  was  argument  for  end- 
less strife.  Other  interests,  too,  were  adverse. 
Poutrincourt,  in  his  discouragement,  had  abandoned 
his  plan  of  liberal  colonization,  and  now  thought  of 
nothing  but  beaver-skins.  He  wished  to  make  a 
trading-post;  the  Jesuits  wished  to  make  a  mission. 

When  the  vessel  anchored  before  Port  Ro3^al, 
Biencourt,  with  disgust  and  anger,  saw  another 
Jesuit  landed  at  the  pier.  Tliis  w^as  Gilbert  du 
Thet,  a  lay  brother,  versed  in  affaire  of  this  world, 
who  had  come  out  as  representative  and  adminis- 
trator of  Madame  de  Guercheville.  Poutrincourt, 
also,  had  his  agent  on  board;  and,  without  the  loss 
of  a  day,  the  tAvo  began  to  quarrel.  A  truce  ensued ; 
then  a  smothered  feud,  pervading  the  whole  colony, 
and  ending  in  a  notable  explosion.  The  Jesuits, 
chafing  under  the  sway  of  Biencourt,  had  withdrawn 
\\dthout  ceremony,   and  betaken   themselves   to   the 

1  Biard,  Belation,  c.  19. 


1612.]         BIENCOURT  AND  THE  PRIESTS.  123 

vessel,    intending   to    sail    for    France.     Biencourt, 
exasperated  at  such  a  breach  of  discipline,  and  fear- 
ing their  representations  at  court,    ordered  them  to 
return,  adding  that,  since  the  Queen  had  commended 
them  to  his  especial  care,  he  could  not,  in  conscience, 
lose  sight  of  them.     The  indignant  fathers   excom- 
municated him.     On  this,  the  sagamore  Louis,  son  of 
the  grisly  convert  Membertou,  begged  leave  to  kill 
them;  but   Biencourt  would   not    countenance    this 
summary  mode  of  relieving  his  embarrassment.     He 
again,  in  the  King's  name,  ordered  the  clerical  muti- 
neers to  return  to  the  fort.     Biard  declared  that  he 
would   not,    threatened  to  excommunicate  any  who 
should  lay  hand  on  him,  and  called  the  Vice-Admiral 
a   robber.     His    wrath,    however,     soon    cooled;  he 
yielded  to  necessity,  and  came  quietly  ashore,  where, 
for  the  next  three  months,   neither  he  nor  his  col- 
leagues  would   say  mass,    or  perform  any  office   of 
religion.  1     At  length  a  change   came  over  him ;  he 
made  advances  of  peace,  prayed  that  the  past  might 
be    forgotten,    said  mass   again,    and   closed  with  a 
petition  that  Brother  du  Thet  might  be  allowed  to  go 
to  France  in  a  trading  vessel  then  on  the  coast.     His 
petition  being  granted,  he  wrote  to  Poutrincourt  a 
letter    overflowing   with   praises   of    his   son;    and, 
charged  with  this  missive,  Du  Thet  set  sail. 

1  Lescarbot  (1618),  676.  Biard  passes  over  the  affair  in  silence. 
In  his  letters  (see  Carayon)  prior  to  this  time,  he  speaks  favorably 
both  of  Biencourt  and  Poutrincourt. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

1613. 

LA  SAUSSAYE.— ARGALL. 

VoTAGE    OF     La    Saussate.  —  MouKT    Desert.  —  Argall    at- 

TACKS    THE    FRENCH.  DeATH    OF    D0     ThET.  Sx.     SaDVEUR 

DESTROYED. 

Pending  these  squabbles,  the  Jesuits  at  home  were 
far  from  idle.  Bent  on  ridding  themselves  of 
Poutrincourt,  they  seized,  in  satisfaction  of  debts 
due  them,  all  the  cargo  of  his  returning  vessel,  and 
involved  him  in  a  network  of  litigation.  If  we 
accept  his  own  statements  in  a  letter  to  his  friend 
Lescarbot,  he  was  outrageously  misused,  and  indeed 
defrauded,  by  his  clerical  copartners,  who  at  length 
had  him  thrown  into  prison.  ^  Here,  exasperated, 
weary,  sick  of  Acadia,  and  anxious  for  the  wretched 
exiles  who  looked  to  him  for  succor,  the  unfortunate 
man  fell  ill.  Regaining  his  liberty,  he  again  addressed 
himself  with  what  strength  remained  to  the  forlorn 
task  of  sending  relief  to  his  son  and  his  comrades. 

Scarcely  had  Brother  Gilbert  du  Thet  arrived  in 
France,  when  ISIadame  de  Guercheville  and  her 
Jesuits,  strong  in  court  favor  and  in  the  charity  of 

1  See  the  letter  in  Lescarbot  (1618),  678. 


1613.]  VOYAGE  OF  LA  SAUSSAYE.  125 

wealthy  penitents,  prepared  to  take  possession  of 
their  empire  beyond  sea.  Contributions  were  asked, 
and  not  in  vain;  for  the  sagacious  fathers,  mindful 
of  ever}^  spring  of  influence,  had  deeply  studied  the 
mazes  of  feminine  psychology,  and  then,  as  now, 
were  favorite  confessors  of  the  fair.  It  was  on  the 
twelfth  of  March,  1613,  that  the  "Mayflower"  of  the 
Jesuits  sailed  from  Ilonfleur  for  the  shores  of  New 
England.  She  was  the  "Jonas,"  formerly  in  the 
service  of  De  Monts,  a  small  craft  bearing  forty-eight 
sailors  and  colonists,  including  two  Jesuits,  Father 
Quentin  and  Brother  Du  Thet.  She  carried  horses, 
too,  and  goats,  and  was  abundantly  stored  with  all 
tilings  needful  by  the  pious  mimificence  of  her 
patrons.  A  courtier  named  La  Saussaye  was  chief 
of  the  colony,  Captain  Charles  Fleury  commanded 
the  ship,^  and,  as  she  winged  her  way  across  the 
Atlantic,  benedictions  hovered  over  her  from  lordly 
halls  and  perfumed  chambers. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  May,  La  Saussaye  touched  at 
La  Heve,  where  he  heard  mass,  planted  a  cross,  and 
displayed  the  scutcheon  of  Madame  de  Guerche\dlle. 
Thence,  passing  on  to  Port  Royal,  he  found  Biard, 
Masse,  their  servant-boy,  an  apothecary,  and  one  man 
beside.  Biencourt  and  his  followers  were  scattered 
about  the  woods  and  shores,  digging  the  tuberous 
roots   called  ground-nuts,    catching  alewives  in  the 

1  Rapport  fait  a  I'Amiraute  de  Rouen  par  Charles  Fleury,  Capitaiue 
du  Jonas,  le  27  Aoust,  1614.  I  am  indebted  to  M.  Gabriel  Gravier,  of 
Rouen,  for  a  copy  of  tliis  dociinieut. 


120  LA  SAUSSAYE.  — ARGALL.  [1613. 

l.ioolvs,  iuul  by  similar  expedients  sustaining  theii 
iiuseral)le  existence.  Taking  the  two  Jesuits  on 
board,  tlie  voyagers  steered  for  the  Penobscot.  A 
fog  rose  upon  the  sea.  They  sailed  to  and  fro,  grop- 
ing their  way  in  blindness,  straining  their  eyes 
tlirougli  the  mist,  and  trembling  each  instant  lest 
they  should  descry  the  black  outline  of  some  deadly 
reef  and  the  ghostly  death-dance  of  the  breakers. 
But  Heaven  heard  their  prayers.  At  night  they 
t'oidd  see  the  stars. ^  The  sun  rose  resplendent  on  a 
laughing  sea,  and  his  morning  beams  streamed  fair 
and  full  on  the  wild  heights  of  the  island  of  Mount 
Desert.  They  entered  a  bay  that  stretched  inland 
between  iron-bound  shores,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
St.  Sauveur.  It  is  now  called  Frenchman's  Bay. 
They  saw  a  coast-line  of  weather-beaten  crags  set 
thick  with  spruce  and  fir,  the  surf-washed  cliffs  of 
Great  Head  and  Schooner  Head,  the  rocky  front  of 
Newport  Mountain,  patched  with  ragged  woods,  the 
arid  domes  of  Diy  Mountain  and  Green  Mountain, 
the  round  bristly  backs  of  the  Porcupine  Islands,  and 
the  waving  outline  of  the  Gouldsborough  Hills. 

La  Saussaye  cast  anchor  not  far  from  Schooner 
Head,  and  here  he  lay  till  evening.  The  jet-black 
shade  betwixt  crags  and  sea,   the   pines  along   the 

'  "  Suruint  en  mer  vne  si  espaisse  brume,  que  nous  n'y  voyons  pas 
plus  lie  iour  que  de  nuict.  Nous  apprehendions  grandement  ce  danger, 
parce  qu'en  ce't  endroict,  il  y  a  beaucoup  de  brisans  et  rochers.  .  .  , 
De  sa  boute,  Dieu  nous  exaui;a,  car  le  soir  mesme  nous  commenoasmes 
k  voir  les  estoiles,  et  le  matin  les  broue'es  se  dissiperent ;  nous  nous  re- 
couuusmes  estre  au  deuaut  des  Monts  deserts."     Biard,  Relation,  c.  23. 


1613.]  MOUNT  DESERT.  127 

cliff,  pencilled  against  the  fiery  sunset,  the  dreamy 
slumber  of  distant  mountains  bathed  in  shadowy 
purple,  — such  is  the  scene  that  in  this  our  day  greets 
the  wandering  artist,  the  roving  collegian  bivouacked 
on  the  shore,  or  the  pilgrim  from  stifled  cities  renew- 
ing his  jaded  strength  in  the  mighty  life  of  Nature. 
Perhaps  they  then  greeted  the  adventurous  French- 
men. There  was  peace  on  the  wilderness  and  peace 
on  the  sea ;  but  none  in  this  missionaiy  bark,  pioneer 
of  Christianity  and  civilization.  A  rabble  of  angry 
sailors  clamored  on  her  deck,  ready  to  mutiny  over 
the  terms  of  their  engagement.  Should  the  time  of 
their  stay  be  reckoned  from  their  landing  at  La  Heve, 
or  from  their  anchoring  at  Mount  Desert?  Fleury, 
the  naval  commander,  took  their  part.  Sailor, 
courtier,  and  priest  gave  tongue  together  in  vocif- 
erous debate.  Poutrincourt  was  far  away,  a  ruined 
man,  and  the  intractable  Vice-Admiral  had  ceased 
from  troubling;  yet  not  the  less  were  the  omens  of 
the  pious  enterprise  sinister  and  dark.  The  com- 
pany, however,  went  ashore,  raised  a  cross,  and  heard 
mass. 

At  a  distance  in  the  woods  they  saw  the  signal 
smoke  of  Indians,  whom  Biard  lost  no  time  in  visit- 
ing. Some  of  them  were  from  a  village  on  the  shore, 
three  leagues  westward.  They  urged  the  French  to 
go  with  them  to  their  wigwams.  The  astute  savages 
had  learned  already  how  to  deal  with  a  Jesuit. 

"Our  great  chief,  Asticou,  is  there.  He  wishes 
for  baptism.     He  is  very  sick.     He  will  die  uubap- 


128  LA  SAUSSAYE.  —  ARGALL.  [1613. 

tized.     He  will  bum  in  hell,  and  it  will  be  all  your 
fault." 

This  was  enough.  Biard  embarked  in  a  canoe, 
and  they  paddled  him  to  the  spot,  where  he  found 
the  great  chief,  Asticou,  in  his  wigwam,  with  a 
heavy  cold  in  the  head.  Disappointed  of  his  chari- 
table purpose,  the  priest  consoled  himself  with  observ- 
ing the  beauties  of  the  neighboring  shore,  which 
seemed  to  him  better  fitted  than  St.  Sauveur  for  the 
intended  settlement.  It  was  a  gentle  slope,  descend- 
ing to  the  water,  covered  with  tall  grass,  and  backed 
by  rocky  hills.  It  looked  southeast  upon  a  harbor 
where  a  fleet  might  ride  at  anchor,  sheltered  from  the 
gales  by  a  cluster  of  islands.  ^ 

The  ship  was  brought  to  the  spot,  and  the  colonists 
disembarked.  First  they  planted  a  cross ;  then  they 
began  their  labors,  and  with  their  labors  their  quar- 

1  Biard  says  that  the  place  was  ouly  three  leagues  from  St.  Sauveur, 
and  tliat  he  could  go  and  return  in  au  afteruoon.  He  adds  that  it  was 
"  sopare'  de  la  grande  Isle  des  Monts  De'serts."  He  was  evidently  mis- 
taken in  this.  St.  Sauveur  being  on  the  east  side  of  Mount  Desert, 
there  is  no  place  separated  from  it,  and  answering  to  his  description, 
which  he  could  have  reached  within  the  time  mentioned.  He  no  doubt 
crossed  Mount  Desert  Sound,  which,  with  Soames's  Sound,  nearly  severs 
the  island.  The  settlement  must  have  been  on  the  western  side  of 
Soames's  Sound.  Here,  about  a  mile  from  the  open  sea,  on  the  farm  of 
Mr.  Fernald,  is  a  spot  perfectly  answering  to  the  minute  description  of 
Biard :  "  Le  terroir  noir,  gras,  et  fertile,  ....  la  jolie  colline  esleuee 
doucement  sur  la  mer,  et  baigne'e  a  ses  costez  de  deux  fontaines ;  .  .  .  . 
les  petites  islettes  qui  rompent  les  flots  et  les  vents."  The  situation  is 
highly  picturesque.  On  tlie  opposite  or  eastern  shore  of  the  sound  are 
found  heaps  of  clam-shells  and  other  indications  of  an  Indian  village, 
probably  that  of  Asticou.  I  am  indebted  to  E.  L.  Hamlin,  Esq.,  of 
Bangor,  for  pointing  out  this  locality. 


1613.]  THE  ENEMY  IN  SIGHT.  129 

rels.  La  Saussaye,  zealous  for  agriculture,  wished 
to  break  ground  and  raise  crops  immediately;  the 
rest  opposed  liim,  wishing  first  to  be  housed  and 
fortified.  Fleury  demanded  that  the  ship  should  be 
unladen,  and  La  Saussaye  would  not  consent.^  Debate 
ran  high,  when  suddenly  all  was  harmony,  and  the 
disputants  were  friends  once  more  in  the  pacification 
of  a  common  danger. 

Far  out  at  sea,  beyond  the  islands  that  sheltered 
their  harbor,  they  saw  an  approaching  sail;  and  as 
she  drew  near,  straining  their  anxious  eyes,  they 
could  descry  the  red  flags  that  streamed  from  her 
masthead  and  her  stern;  then  the  black  muzzles  of 
her  cannon,  —  they  counted  seven  on  a  side ;  then  the 
throng  of  men  upon  her  decks.  The  wind  was  brisk 
and  fair;  all  her  sails  were  set;  she  came  on,  writes 
a  spectator,  more  swiftly  than  an  aiTow.^ 

Six  years  before,  in  1607,  the  ships  of  Captain 
Newport  had  conveyed  to  the  banks  of  James  River 
the  first  vital  germ  of  English  colonization  on  the 
continent.  Noble  and  wealthy  speculators,  with 
Hispaniola,  Mexico,  and  Peru  for  their  inspiration, 
had  combined  to  gather  the  fancied  golden  harvest  of 
Virginia,  received  a  cliarter  from  the  CroAvn,  and 
taken  possession  of  their  El  Dorado.  From  tavern, 
gaming-house,   and  brothel  was  drawn  the  staple  of 

^  Rapport  (h  Flenrji  h  V Amiraxit€ de  Rouen. 

2  "  Le  nauire  Anglois  vcnuit  plus  visto  (ni'un  danl,  ayant  le  vent  a 
souliait,  tout  pauis  de  roguo,  Ics  pauillous  d'Aiii^lotcrre  flottans,  et  troia 
trompettes  et  deux  tambours  faisans  rage  de  sonucr."  Biard,  Rrlntion, 
c.  25. 

VOL.    II,  —  9 


ir.O  I^A  SAUSSAYE.  — ARGALL.  [1613. 

the  colony,  —  ruined  gentlemen,  prodigal  sons,  dis- 
reputiil)le  retainers,  debauched  tradesmen.  Yet  it 
would  be  foul  slander  to  affirm  that  the  founders  of 
Virginia  were  all  of  this  stamp;  for  among  the  riotous 
crew  were  men  of  worth,  and,  above  them  all,  a  hero 
disguised  by  the  homeliest  of  names.  Again  and 
again,  in  direst  woe  and  jeopardy,  the  infant  settle- 
ment owed  its  life  to  the  heart  and  hand  of  John 
Smith. 

Several  years  had  elapsed  since  Newport's  voyage  -, 
and  the  colony,  depleted  by  famine,  disease,  and  an 
Indian  war,  had  been  recruited  by  fresh  emigration, 
when  one  Samuel  Argall  arrived  at  Jamestown, 
captain  of  an  illicit  trading-vessel.  He  was  a  man 
of  ability  and  force,  —  one  of  those  compounds  of 
craft  and  daring  in  which  the  age  was  fruitful ;  for 
the  rest,  unscrupulous  and  grasping.  In  the  spring 
of  1613  he  achieved  a  characteristic  exploit,  —  the 
abduction  of  Pocahontas,  that  most  interesting  of 
young  squaws,  or,  to  borrow  the  style  of  the  day,  of 
Indian  princesses.  Sailing  up  the  Potomac  he  lured 
her  on  board  his  ship,  and  then  carried  off  the  bene- 
factress of  the  colony  a  prisoner  to  Jamesto\vn.  Here 
a  young  man  of  family,  Rolfe,  became  enamoured  of 
her,  married  her  with  more  than  ordinary  ceremony, 
and  thus  secured  a  firm  alliance  between  her  tribes- 
men and  the  English. 

Meanwhile  Argall  had  set  forth  on  another  enter- 
prise. With  a  ship  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  tons, 
carrying  fourteen  guns  and  sixty  men,  he  sailed  in 


1613.]  ARGALL   AND  THE  INDIANS.  131 

May  for  islands  off  the  coast  of  Maine  to  fish,  as  he 
says,  for  cod.^  He  had  a  more  important  errand;  for 
Sir  Thomas  Dale,  Governor  of  Virginia,  had  commis- 
sioned him  to  expel  the  French  from  any  settlement 
they  might  have  made  within  the  limits  of  King 
James's  patents. ^  Thick  fogs  involved  him;  and 
when  the  weather  cleared  he  found  himself  not  far 
from  the  Bay  of  Penobscot.  Canoes  came  out  from 
shore;  the  Indians  climbed  the  ship's  side,  and,  as 
they  gained  the  deck,  greeted  the  astonished  English 
with  an  odd  pantomime  of  bows  and  flourishes, 
which,  in  the  belief  of  the  latter,  could  have  been 
learned  from  none  but  Frenchmen.  ^  By  signs,  too, 
and  by  often  repeating  the  word  Norman,  —  by  which 
they  always  designated  the  French,  —  they  betrayed 
the  presence  of  the  latter.  Argall  questioned  them 
as  well  as  his  total  ignorance  of  their  language  would 
permit,  and  learned,  by  signs,  the  position  and 
numbei"s  of  the  colonists.  Clearly  they  were  no 
match  for  him.  Assuring  the  Indians  that  the 
Normans  were  his  friends,  and  that  he  longed  to  see 
them,  he  retained  one  of  the  visitors  as  a  guide,  dis- 
missed the  rest  with  presents,  and  shaped  his  course 
for  Mount  Desert.* 

^  Letter  of  Argall  to  Nicholas  Hawes,  June,  1613,  in  Purclias,  IV. 
1764. 

2  Collections  Mass.  Hist.  Soc,  Fourth  Series,  IX.  41,  489. 

8  "  .  .  .  et  aux  ceremonies  que  les  sauvages  faisoient  pour  leur 
complaire,  ils  recognoissoieut  ((ue  c'etoieut  cere'monies  de  courtoisie  et 
ciuilitez  frau(;oise3."     Biard,  Rilatiun,  c.  25. 

*  Holmes,  American  Annals,  by  a  misapprehension  of  Ciiamplain's 
narrative,  represents  Argall  aa  having  a  squadron  of  eleven  ships.  He 
certainly  had  but  one. 


132  LA  SAUSSAYE.  —  ARGALL.  [1613. 

Now  tlie  wild  heights  rose  in  view;  now  the  Eng- 
lish could  see  the  masts  of  a  small  ship  anchored  in 
the  sound;  and  now,  as  they  rounded  the  islands, 
four  white  tents  were  visible  on  the  grassy  slope 
between  the  water  and  the  woods.  They  were  a  gift 
from  the  Queen  to  Madame  de  Guercheville  and  her 
missionaries.  Argall's  men  prepared  for  fight,  while 
their  Indian  guide,  amazed,  broke  into  a  howl  of 
lamentation. 

On  shore  all  was  confusion.  Bailleul,  the  pilot, 
went  to  reconnoitre,  and  ended  by  hiding  among  the 
islands.  La  Saussaye  lost  presence  of  mind,  and  did 
nothing  for  defence.  La  jNIotte,  his  lieutenant,  with 
Captain  Fleury,  an  ensign,  a  sergeant,  the  Jesuit 
Du  Thet,  and  a  few  of  the  bravest  men,  hastened  on 
board  the  vessel,  but  had  no  time  to  cast  loose  her 
cables.  Argall  bore  down  on  them,  with  a  furious 
din  of  di'ums  and  trumpets,  showed  his  broadside, 
and  replied  to  their  hail  with  a  volley  of  cannon  and 
musket  shot.  "  Fire !  Fire !  "  screamed  Fleuiy.  But 
there  was  no  gunner  to  obey,  till  Du  Thet  seized  and 
applied  the  match.  "The  cannon  made  as  much 
noise  as  the  enemy's,"  writes  Biard;  but,  as  the 
inexperienced  artillerist  forgot  to  aim  the  piece,  no 
other  result  ensued.  Another  storm  of  musketiy, 
and  Brother  Gilbert  du  Thet  rolled  helpless  on  the 
deck. 

The  French  ship  was  mute.  The  English  plied 
her  for  a  time  with  shot,  then  lowered  a  boat  and 
lK)arded.    Under  the  awnings  which  covered  her,  dead 


1613.]  CONDUCT   OF   ARGALL.  133 

and  wounded  men  lay  stre^vTl  about  her  deck,  and 
among  them  the  brave  lay  brother,  smothering  in  his 
blood.  He  had  his  wish ;  for,  on  leaving  France,  he 
had  prayed  with  uplifted  hands  that  he  might  not 
return,  but  perish  in  that  holy  enterprise.  Like  the 
Order  of  which  he  was  a  humble  member,  he  was  a 
compound  of  qualities  in  appearance  contradictory. 
La  Motte,  sword  in  hand,  showed  fight  to  the  last, 
and  won  the  esteem  of  his  captors. ^ 

The  English  landed  without  meeting  any  show  of 
resistance,  and  ranged  at  will  among  the  tents,  the 
piles  of  baggage  and  stores,  and  the  buildings  and 
defences  newly  begun.  Argall  asked  for  the  com- 
mander, but  La  Saussaye  had  fled  to  the  woods.  The 
crafty  Englishman  seized  his  chests,  caused  the  locks 
to  be  picked,  searched  till  he  found  the  royal  letters 
and  commissions,  withdrew  them,  replaced  every- 
thing else  as  he  had  found  it,  and  again  closed  the 
lids.  In  the  morning.  La  Saussaye,  between  the 
English  and  starvation,  preferred  the  former,  and 
issued  from  his  hiding-place.  Argall  received  him 
with  studious  courtesy.  That  country,  he  said, 
belonged  to  his  master.  King  James.  Doubtless  they 
had  authority  from  their  own  sovereign  for  thus 
encroaching  upon  it;  and,  for  his  part,  he  was  pre- 
pared to  yield  all  respect  to  the  commissions  of  the 

^  Fleury,  who  was  wounded,  greatly  blames  the  flight  of  La  Saus- 
saye :  "  Si  luy  et  ses  diets  compagnons  cussent  donuc  combat  et  se  fus- 
sent  defendus,  le  diet  navire  n'eust  este  jjrius."  In  a  reply  to  complaints 
of  the  French  ambassador,  it  was  said  that  the  French  fired  the  first 
shot.     See  Coll.  Mass.  Hist.  Soc,  Fourth  Series,  IX.  489. 


134  LA  SAUSSAYE.  —  ARGALL.  [1613. 

King  of  France,  that  the  peace  between  the  two 
nations  might  not  be  disturbed.  Therefore  he  prayed 
that  the  commissions  might  be  shown  to  him.  La 
Saussaye  opened  his  chests.  The  royal  signature 
was  nowhere  to  be  found.  At  this,  Argall's  courtesy 
was  changed  to  wrath.  He  denounced  the  French- 
men as  robbers  and  pirates  who  deserved  the  gallows, 
removed  their  property  on  board  his  ship,  and  spent 
the  afternoon  in  dividing  it  among  his  followers. 
The  disconsolate  French  remained  on  the  scene  of 
their  woes,  where  the  greedy  sailors  as  they  came 
ashore  would  snatch  from  them,  now  a  cloak,  now  a 
hat,  and  now  a  doublet,  till  the  unfortunate  colonists 
were  left  half  naked.  In  other  respects  the  English 
treated  their  captives  well,  —  except  two  of  them, 
whom  they  flogged;  and  Argall,  whom  Biard,  after 
recounting  his  knavery,  calls  "a  gentleman  of  noble 
courage,"  having  gained  his  point,  returned  to  his 
former  courtesy. 

But  how  to  dispose  of  the  prisoners?  Fifteen  of 
them,  including  La  Saussaye  and  the  Jesuit  Masse, 
were  turned  adrift  in  an  open  boat,  at  the  mercy  of 
the  wilderness  and  the  sea.  Nearly  all  were  lands- 
men ;  but  while  their  unpractised  hands  were  strug- 
gling with  the  oars,  they  were  joined  among  the 
islands  by  the  fugitive  pilot  and  his  boat's  crew. 
Worn  and  half  starved,  the  united  bands  made  their 
perilous  way  eastward,  stopping  from  time  to  time  to 
hear  mass,  make  a  procession,  or  catch  codfish. 
Thus  sustained  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  flesh,  cheered 


1613.]  RESCUE   OF  THE  PRISONERS.  135 

too  by  the  Indians,  who  proved  fast  friends  in  need, 
they  crossed  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  doubled  Cape  Sable, 
and  followed  the  southern  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  till 
they  happily  fell  in  with  two  French  trading- vessels, 
which  bore  them  in  safety  to  St.  Malo. 


CHAPTER  Vni. 

1613-1615. 

RUIN  OF  FRENCH  ACADIA. 

The  Jesuits  at  Jamestown.  —  Wrath  of  Sie  Thomas  Dale. — 
A  New  Expeditiox.  —  Port  Royal  demolished.  —  Equivocal 
Posture  of  the  Jesuits.  —  Their  Adventures.  —  The  French 
will  not  abandon  Acadia. 

"Praised  be  God,  behold  two  thirds  of  our  com- 
pauy  safe  in  France,  telling  their  strange  adventures 
to  their  relatives  and  friends.  And  now  you  will 
wish  to  know  what  befell  the  rest  of  us."^  Thus 
writes  Father  Biard,  who  with  his  companions  in 
misfortune,  fourteen  in  all,  prisoners  on  board 
Argall's  ship  and  the  prize,  were  borne  captive  to 
Virginia.  Old  Point  Comfort  was  reached  at  length, 
the  site  of  Fortress  Monroe;  Hampton  Roads,  re- 
nowned in  our  day  for  the  sea-fight  of  the  Titans; 
Se well's  Point;  the  Rip  Raps;  Ne^\^^ort  News,  — all 
household  words  in  the  ears  of  this  generation.  Now, 
far  on  their  right,  buried  in  the  damp  shade  of 
immemorial  verdure,  lay,  untrodden  and  voiceless, 
the   fields   where   stretched  the   leaguering  lines  of 

1  "  Dieu  soit  beny.  Voyla  ja  les  deux  tiers  de  nostre  troupe  recon- 
dnicta  en  France  sains  et  sauues  parmy  leurs  parents  et  amis,  qui  les 
oycnt  conter  leurs  grandcs  aventures.  Ores  consequemment  vous  de- 
sirez  scauoir  ce  qui  deuiendra  I'autre  tiers."     Biard,  Relation,  c.  28. 


1613.]         WRATH  OF  SIR  THOMAS  DALE.  137 

Washington,  where  the  lilies  of  France  floated  beside 
the  banners  of  the  new-born  republic,  and  where  in 
later  years  embattled  treason  confronted  the  manhood 
of  an  outraged  nation.  ^  And  now  before  them  they 
could  descry  the  masts  of  small  craft  at  anchor,  a 
cluster  of  rude  dwellings  fresh  from  the  axe,  scattered 
tenements,  and  fields  green  with  tobacco. 

Throughout  the  voyage  the  prisoners  had  been 
soothed  with  flattering  tales  of  the  benignity  of  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  Sir  Thomas  Dale;  of  his  love 
of  the  French,  and  his  respect  for  the  memory  of 
Henry  the  Fourth,  to  whom,  they  were  told,  he  was 
much  beholden  for  countenance  and  favor.  On  their 
landing  at  Jamestown,  this  consoling  picture  was 
reversed.  The  Governor  fumed  and  blustered,  talked 
of  halter  and  gallows,  and  declared  that  he  would 
hang  them  all.  In  vain  Argall  remonstrated,  urging 
that  he  had  pledged  his  word  for  their  lives.  Dale, 
outraged  by  their  invasion  of  British  territory,  was 
deaf  to  all  appeals ;  till  Argall,  driven  to  extremity, 
displayed  the  stolen  commissions,  and  proclaimed  his 
stratagem,  of  which  the  French  themselves  had  to 
that  moment  been  ignorant.  As  they  were  accredited 
by  their  government,  their  lives  at  least  were  safe. 
Yet  the  wrath  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale  still  burned  high. 
He  summoned  his  council,  and  they  resolved  promptly 
to  wipe  off  all  stain  of  French  intrusion  from  shores 
which  King  James  claimed  as  his   own. 

Their  action  was  utterly  unauthorized.     The  two 

1  "Written  immediately  after  tlie  "War  of  Secession. 


188  RUIN  OF  FRENCH  ACADIA.  [1613. 

kingd9ms  were  at  peace.  James  the  First,  by  the 
patents  of  1606,  had  granted  all  North  America, 
from  the  thirty-fourth  to  the  forty-fifth  degree  of 
latitude,  to  the  two  companies  of  London  and 
Plymouth,  —  Virginia  being  assigned  to  the  former, 
while  to  the  latter  were  given  Maine  and  Acadia, 
with  adjacent  regions.  Over  these,  though  as  yet 
the  claimants  had  not  taken  possession  of  them,  the 
authorities  of  Virginia  had  no  color  of  jurisdiction. 
England  claimed  all  North  America,  in  virtue  of  the 
discovery  of  Cabot;  and  Sir  Thomas  Dale  became 
the  self-constituted  champion  of  British  rights,  not 
the  less  zealous  that  his  championship  promised  a 
harvest  of  booty. 

Argall's  ship,  the  captured  ship  of  La  Saussaye, 
and  another  smaller  vessel,  were  at  once  equipped 
and  despatched  on  their  errand  of  havoc.  Argall 
commanded;  and  Biard,  with  Quentin  and  several 
othei-s  of  the  prisoners,  were  embarked  with  him.^ 
They  shaped  their  course  first  for  Mount  Desert. 
Here  they  landed,  levelled  La  Saussaye's  unfinished 
defences,  cut  down  the  French  cross,  and  planted  one 
of  their  own  in  its  place.  Next  they  sought  out  the 
island  of  St.  Croix,  seized  a  quantity  of  salt,  and 
razed  to  the  ground  all  that  remained  of  the  dilapi- 
dated buildings  of  De  Monts.     They  crossed  the  Bay 

'  In  his  if?e/a^o»i,  Biard  does  not  explain  the  reason  of  his  accom- 
panving  the  expedition.  In  his  letter  to  the  General  of  the  Jesuits, 
dated  Amiens,  26  Mav,  1614  (Carayon),  he  says  that  it  was  "  dans  le 
dessein  de  profiler  de  la  premiere  occasion  qui  se  rencontrerait,  pour 
nous  rcnvoyer  dans  notre  patrie." 


1613.]       SECOND   EXPEDITION  OF  ARGALL.  139 

of  Fundy  to  Port  Royal,  guided,  says  Biard,  by  an 
Indian  chief,  —  an  improbable  assertion,  since  the 
natives  of  these  coasts  hated  the  English  as  much  as 
they  loved  the  French,  and  now  well  knew  the 
designs  of  the  former.  The  unfortunate  settlement 
was  tenantless.  Biencourt,  with  some  of  his  men, 
was  on  a  visit  to  neighboring  bands  of  Indians,  while 
the  rest  were  reaping  in  the  fields  on  the  river,  two 
leagues  above  the  fort.  Succor  from  Poutrincourt 
had  arrived  during  the  summer.  The  magazines 
were  by  no  means  empty,  and  there  were  cattle, 
horses,  and  hogs  in  adjacent  fields  and  enclosures. 
Exulting  at  their  good  fortune,  ArgalPs  men  butch- 
ered or  carried  off  the  animals,  ransacked  the  build- 
ings, plundered  them  even  to  the  locks  and  bolts  of 
the  doors,  and  then  laid  the  whole  in  ashes;  "and 
may  it  please  the  Lord,"  adds  the  pious  Biard,  "that 
the  sins  therein  committed  may  likewise  have  been 
consumed  in  that  burning." 

Having  demolished  Port  Royal,  the  marauders  went 
in  boats  up  the  river  to  the  fields  where  the  reapers 
were  at  work.  These  fled,  and  took  refuge  behind 
the  ridge  of  a  hill,  whence  they  gazed  helplessly  on 
the  destruction  of  their  harvest.  Biard  approached 
them,  and,  according  to  the  declaration  of  Poutrin- 
court made  and  attested  before  the  Admiralty  of 
Guienne,  tried  to  persuade  them  to  desert  his  son, 
Biencourt,  and  take  service  with  Argall.  The  reply 
of  one  of  the  men  gave  little  encoui-agement  for 
further  parley :  — 


140  RUIN  OF  FRENCH  ACADIA.  [1613. 

"Begone,  or  I  will  split  your  head  with  this 
hatchet." 

There  is  flat  contradiction  here  between  the  narra- 
tive of  the  Jesuit  and  tlie  accounts  of  Poutrincourt 
and  contemporary  English  writers,  who  agree  in 
affinning  that  Biard,  "  out  of  indigestible  malice  that 
he  had  conceived  against  Biencourt,"^  encouraged 
the  attack  on  the  settlements  of  St.  Croix  and  Port 
Royal,  and  guided  the  English  thither.  The  priest 
himself  admits  that  both  French  and  English  regarded 
him  as  a  traitor,  and  that  his  life  was  in  danger. 
While  Argall's  ship  was  at  anchor,  a  Frenchman 
shouted  to  the  English  from  a  distance  that  they 
would  do  well  to  kill  him.  The  master  of  the  ship, 
a  Puritan,  in  his  abomination  of  priests,  and  above 
all  of  Jesuits,  was  at  the  same  time  urging  his  com- 
mander to  set  Biard  ashore  and  leave  him  to  the 
mercy  of  his  countrymen.  In  this  pass  he  was  saved, 
to  adopt  liis  own  account,  by  what  he  calls  his  sim- 
plicit}^ ;  for  he  tells  us,  that,  while  —  instigated,  like 
the  rest  of  his  enemies,  by  the  Devil  —  the  robber 
and  the  robbed  were  joining  hands  to  ruin  him,  he 
was  on  his  knees  before  Argall,  begging  him  to  take 
pity  on  the  French,  and  leave  them  a  boat,  together 
with  provisions  to  sustain  their  miserable  lives 
through  the  winter.  This  spectacle  of  charity,  he 
further  says,  so  moved  the  noble  heart  of  the  com- 

1  Briefe  Intelligence  from  Virginia  bi/  Letters.  See  Purchas,  IV. 
1808.  Compare  Poutriucourt's  letter  to  Lescarbot,  in  Lescarbot, 
(1618.)  684.  Also,  P/ainte  du  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt  devant  le  Juge  de 
I'Admiraut^de  Guyenne,  Lescarbot,  687. 


1613.]  ARGALL  AND  BIENCOURT.  141 

mander,  that  he  closed  his  ears  to  all  the  promptings 
of  foreign  and  domestic  malice.^ 

The  English  had  scarcely  re-embarked,  when 
Biencourt  arrived  with  his  followers,  and  beheld  the 
scene  of  destruction.  Hopelessly  outnumbered,  he 
tried  to  lure  Argall  and  some  of  his  officers  into 
an  ambuscade,  but  they  would  not  be  entrapped. 
Biencourt  now  asked  for  an  interview.  The  word  of 
honor  was  mutually  given,  and  the  two  chiefs  met  in 
a  meadow  not  far  from  the  demolished  dwellings. 
An  anonymous  English  writer  says  that  Biencourt 
offered  to  transfer  his  allegiance  to  King  James,  on 
condition  of  being  permitted  to  remain  at  Port  Royal 
and  carry  on  the  fur-trade  under  a  guaranty  of  Eng- 
lish protection,  but  that  Argall  would  not  listen  to 
his  overtures. 2     The  interview  proved  a  stormy  one. 

1  "  le  ne  S5ay  qui  secourut  tant  k  propos  le  lesuite  en  ce  danger  que 
sa  simplicite.  Car  tout  de  mesme  que  s'il  eust  este'  bien  fauorise  ot 
qu'il  eust  peu  beaucoup  enuers  ledit  Anglois,  il  se  mit  a  genoux  deuant 
le  Capitaine  par  deux  diuerses  fois  et  a  deux  diuerses  occasions,  a 
celle  fin  de  le  flechir  a  misericorde  enuers  les  Francois  du  dit  Tort 
Royal  esgares  par  les  bois  et  pour  luy  persuader  de  leur  laisser 
quelques  viures,  leur  chaloupe  et  quelqu'  autre  inoyen  de  passer 
I'hyuer.  Et  voyez  combien  differentes  petitions  on  faisoit  audit 
Capitaine ;  car  au  mesme  tempts  que  le  P.  Biard  le  supplioit  ainsi 
l)our  les  Francois,  vn  Franyois  crioit  de  loin,  avec  outrages  et  iniures, 
qu'il  le  falloit  massacrer. 

"  Or  Argal,  qui  est  d'vn  coeur  noble,  voyant  ceste  taut  sincere 
affection  du  lesuite,  et  de  I'autre  costc  tant  bestiale  et  enragc'e  inhu- 
manite  de  ce  Francois,  laquelle  ne  recognoissoit  ny  sa  propre  nation, 
ny  bien-faicts,  ny  religion,  ny  estoit  dompte'  par  Tafflictiou  et  verges  de 
Dieu,  estiraa,"  etc.  Biard,  Relation,  c.  29.  lie  WTites  throughout  in 
the  third  person. 

2  Brii'fe  Intelligence,  Purclias,  IV.  1808. 


142  RUIN  OF  FRENCH  ACADIA.  [1613. 

Biard  says  that  the  Frenchmen  vomited  against  him 
every  species  of  malignant  abuse.  "In  the  mean 
time,"  he  adds,  "you  mil  considerately  observe  to 
what  madness  the  evil  spirit  excite th  those  who  sell 
themselves  to  him.*'^ 

According  to  Poutrincourt,^  Argall  admitted  that 
the  priest  had  urged  him  to  attack  Port  Royal. 
Certain  it  is  that  Biencourt  demanded  his  surrender, 
frankly  declaring  that  he  meant  to  hang  him. 
"Whilest  they  were  discoursing  together,"  says  the 
old  English  writer  above  mentioned,  "one  of  the 
savages,  rushing  suddenly  forth  from  the  Woods,  and 
licentiated  to  come  neere,  did  after  his  manner,  with 
such  broken  French  as  he  had,  Earnestly  mediate  a 
peace,  wondring  why  they  that  seemed  to  be  of  one 
Country  should  vse  others  with  such  hostilitie,  and 
that  with  such  a  forme  of  habit  and  gesture  as  made 
them  both  to  laugh."  ^ 

His  work  done,  and,  as  he  thought,  the  French 
settlements  of  Acadia  effectually  blotted  out,  Argall 
set  sail  for  Virginia  on  the  thirteenth  of  November. 
Scarcely  was  he  at  sea  when  a  storm  scattered  the 
vessels.  Of  the  smallest  of  the  three  nothing  was 
ever  heard.  Argall,  severely  buffeted,  reached  his 
port  in  safety,  having  first,  it  is  said,  compelled  the 
Dutch  at  Manhattan  to  acknowledge  for  a  time  the 

^  Biard,  c.  29 :  "  Cependant  vous  remarquerez  sagement  iusques  ^ 
quelle  rage  le  maliu  esprit  agite  ceux  qui  se  vendent  a  luy." 
2  Plalnte  du  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt,  Lescarbot,  (1618,)  689. 
»  Purchas,  IV.  1808. 


1613.]  ADVENTURES   OF   BIARD.  143 

sovereignty  of  King  James.  ^     The  captured  sliip  of 
La  Saussaye,  with  Biard  and  his  colleague  Quentin 
on  board,    was  forced  to  yield   to  the   fury  of   the 
western   gales,   and  bear  away  for  the  Azores.     To 
Biard  the  change  of  destination  was  not  unwelcome. 
He    stood   in    fear    of    the   truculent    Governor    of 
Virginia,    and    his    tempest-rocked    slumbers    were 
haunted  with  unpleasant  visions  of  a  rope's  end. 2     It 
seems  that  some  of  the  French  at  Port  Royal,  disap- 
pointed in  their  hope  of  hanging  him,  had  commended 
him  to  Sir  Thomas  Dale  as  a  proper  subject  for  the 
gallows,  drawing  up  a  paper,  signed  by  six  of  them, 
and  containing  allegations  of  a  nature  well  fitted  to 
kindle    the   wrath   of   that   vehement  official.     The 
vessel  was  commanded  by  Turnel,  Argall's  lieutenant, 
apparently  an  officer  of  merit,  a  scholar  and  linguist. 
He  had  treated   his   prisoner   with   great   kindness, 
because,  says  the  latter,  "  he  esteemed  and  loved  him 
for  his   naive   simplicity   and   ingenuous    candor.  "^ 
But  of  late,  thinking  his  kindness  misplaced,  he  had 
changed  it  for  an   extreme  coldness,   preferring,   in 
the   words   of    Biard    himself,    "  to   think   that   the 

*  Description  of  the  Province  of  New  Albion,  in  Neio  York  Historical 
Collections,  Second  Series,  I.  335.  The  statement  is  doubtful.  It  is 
supported,  however,  by  the  excellent  authority  of  Dr.  O'Callaghan, 
History  0/  New  Netherland,  I.  69. 

2  "Le  Mareschal  Thomas  Deel  (que  vous  avez  ouy  estre  fort  aspre 
en  ses  humeurs)  .  .  .  attendoit  en  bon  dcuotion  le  Pere  Biard  pour 
luy  tost  accourcir  les  voyages,  luy  faisant  trouuer  au  milieu  d'une 
eschelle  le  bout  du  monde."     Biard,  Relation,  c.  30,  33. 

^  "  .  .  .  il  avoit  faict  estat  de  le  priser  et  I'aymer  pour  sa  na'ifae 
simplicite  et  ouuerte  candeur."    Ibid.,  c  30. 


144  RUIN   OF   FRENCH  ACADIA.  [1G13. 

Jesuit  liad  lied,  rather  than  so  many  who  accused 
him."i 

Water  ran  low,  provisions  began  to  fail,  and  they 
eked  out  their  meagre  supply  by  butchering  the 
horses  taken  at  Port  Royal.  At  length  they  came 
within  sight  of  Fayal,  when  a  new  terror  seized  the 
niiiuls  of  the  two  Jesuits.  Might  not  the  English- 
men fear  that  their  prisoners  would  denounce  them 
to  the  fervent  Catholics  of  that  island  as  pirates  and 
sacrilegious  kidnappers  of  priests?  From  such 
hazard  the  escape  was  obvious.  What  more  simple 
than  to  drop  the  priests  into  the  sea  ?  ^  In  truth,  the 
English  had  no  little  dread  of  the  results  of  confer- 
ence between  the  Jesuits  and  the  Portuguese  authori- 
ties of  Fayal;  but  the  conscience  or  humanity  of 
Turnel  revolted  at  the  expedient  which  awakened 
such  apprehension  in  the  troubled  mind  of  Biard. 
He  contented  himself  with  requiring  that  the  two 
priests  should  remain  hidden  while  the  ship  lay  off 
the  port:  Biard  does  not  say  that  he  enforced  the 
demand  either  by  threats  or  by  the  imposition  of 
oaths.  He  and  his  companion,  however,  rigidly  com- 
plied with  it,  lying  close  in  the  hold  or  under  the 
boats,  while  suspicious  officials  searched  the  ship,  — 
a  proof,  he  triumphantly  declares,  of  the  audacious 

'  "  .  .  .  il  ainioit  micux  croire  que  le  lesuite  fust  menteur  que  non 
pas  tant  d'autres  qui  I'accusoyeut."    Ibid. 

2  "  Ce  souci  nous  inquietait  fort.  Qu'allaient-ils  fairs?  Nous  jette- 
raient-ils  k  I'eau?  "  Lettre  du  P.  Biard  au  T.  R.  P.  Claude  Aqua  viva, 
Atiiiens,  2G  Mai,  1614,  in  Carayon,  106.  Like  all  Biard's  letters  to 
Aquaviva,  this  is  translated  from  the  original  Latin. 


1613.]  ADVENTURES   OF  BIARD.  145 

malice  which  has  asserted  it  as  a  tenet  of  Rome  that 
no  faith  need  be  kept  with  heretics. 

Once  more  at  sea,  Turnel  shaped  his  course  for 
home,  having,  with  some  difficulty,  gained  a  supply 
of  water  and  provisions  at  Fayal.  All  was  now 
harmony  between  him  and  his  prisoners.  When  he 
reached  Pembroke,  in  Wales,  the  appearance  of  the 
vessel  —  a  French  craft  in  English  hands  —  again 
drew  upon  him  the  suspicion  of  piracy.  The  Jesuits, 
dangerous  witnesses  among  the  Catholics  of  Fayal, 
could  at  the  worst  do  little  harm  with  the  Vice- 
Admiral  at  Pembroke.  To  him,  therefore,  he  led 
the  prisoners,  in  the  sable  garb  of  their  order,  now 
much  the  worse  for  wear,  and  commended  them  as 
persons  without  reproach,  "wherein,"  adds  the 
modest  father,  "he  spoke  the  truth." ^  The  result 
of  their  evidence  was,  we  are  told,  that  Turnel  was 
henceforth  treated,  not  as  a  pirate,  but,  according  to 
his  deserts,  as  an  honorable  gentleman.  This  inter- 
view led  to  a  meeting  with  certain  dignitaries  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  who,  much  interested  in  an  en- 
counter with  Jesuits  in  their  robes,  were  filled,  says 
Biard,  with  wonder  and  admiration  at  what  they 
were  told  of  their  conduct.^  He  explains  that  these 
churchmen  differ  widely  in  form  and  doctrine  from 
the  English  Calvinists,  who,  he  says,  are  called 
Puritans ;  and  he  adds  that  they  are  superior  in  every 

^  " .  .  .  gens  irreprochables,  ce  disoit-il,  ot  disoit  vray."  Baird, 
Relation,  c.  32. 

2  " .  .  .  et  les  ministres  en  domonstroyeut  grands  signes  estonne- 
ment  et  d'admiration."    Ibid.,  c.  31. 
VOL.   II. — 10 


146  RUIN  OF   FRENCH   ACADIA.  [1614. 

respect  to  these,  whom  they  detest  as  an  execrable 
pest.^ 

Biard  was  sent  to  Dover  and  thence  to  Calais, 
returning,  perhaps,  to  the  tranquil  honors  of  his 
chair  of  theology  at  Lyons.  La  Saussaye,  La  Motte, 
Fleury,  and  other  prisoners  were  at  various  times 
sent  from  Virginia  to  England,  and  ultimately  to 
France.  Madame  de  Guercheville,  her  pious  designs 
crushed  in  the  bud,  seems  to  have  gained  no  further 
satisfaction  than  the  restoration  of  the  vessel.  The 
French  ambassador  complained  of  the  outrage,  but 
answer  was  postponed ;  and,  in  the  troubled  state  of 
France,  the  matter  appears  to  have  been  dropped.^ 

Argall,  whose  violent  and  crafty  character  was 
offset  by  a  gallant  bearing  and  various  traits  of  mar- 
tial virtue,  became  Deputy-Governor  of  Virginia, 
and,  imder  a  military  code,  ruled  the  colony  with  a 
rod  of  iron.  He  enforced  the  observance  of  Sunday 
with  an  edifying  rigor.  Those  who  absented  them- 
selves from  church  were,  for  the  first  offence,  impris- 
oned for  the  night,  and  reduced  to  slaver}^  for  a 
week ;  for  the  second  offence,  enslaved  a  month  •,  and 
for  the  third,  a  year.  Nor  was  he  less  strenuous  in 
his  devotion  to  mammon.  He  enriched  himself  by 
extortion  and  wholesale  peculation;  and  his  auda- 
cious dexterity,  aided  by  the  countenance  of  the  Earl 
of  Warwick,  who  is  said  to  have  had  a  tradingr  con- 

o 
^  "  .  .  .  et  les  detestent  comme  peste  execrable."    Ibid.,  c.  32. 
'  Order  of  Council  respecting  certain  claims  against  Capt.  Argall,  etc. 

Ansu-er  to  the  preceding  Order.     See  Colonial  Documents  of  New  York, 

III.  1,  2. 


1615.]         POUTRINCOURT.  —  PORT   ROYAL.  147 

nection  with  him,  thwarted  all  the  efforts  of  the 
company  to  bring  him  to  account.  In  1623,  he  was 
knighted  by  the  hand  of  King  James.  ^ 

Early  in  the  spring  following  the  English  attack, 
Poutrincourt  came  to  Port  Royal.  He  found  the 
place  in  ashes,  and  his  unfortunate  son,  with  the 
men  under  his  command,  wandering  houseless  in 
the  forests.  They  had  passed  a  winter  of  extreme 
misery,  sustaining  their  wretched  existence  with 
roots,  the  buds  of  trees,  and  lichens  peeled  from  the 
rocks. 

Despairing  of  his  enterprise,  Poutrincourt  returned 
to  France.  In  the  next  year,  1615,  during  the  civil 
disturbances  which  followed  the  marriage  of  the 
King,  command  was  given  him  of  the  royal  forces 
destined  for  the  attack  on  Mdry ;  and  here,  happier 
in  his  death  than  in  his  life,  he  fell,  sword  in  hand.^ 

In  spite  of  their  reverses,  the  French  kept  hold  on 
Acadia.^  Biencourt,  partially  at  least,  rebuilt  Port 
Royal;  while  winter  after  winter  the  smoke  of  fur 
traders'  huts  curled  into  the  still,  sharp  air  of  these 

^  Argall'e  history  may  be  gleaned  from  Pnrchas,  Smith,  Stith, 
Gorges,  Beverly,  etc.  An  excellent  summary  will  be  found  in  Bel- 
knap's American  Biography,  and  a  briefer  one  in  Allen's. 

2  Nubilissimi  Herois  Potrincurtii  /sy^iVopAi'inn,  Lescarbot  (1618),  694. 
lie  took  the  town,  but  was  killed  immediately  after  by  a  treacherous 
shot,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  on  his  barony 
of  St.  Just. 

*  According  to  Biard,  more  than  five  hundred  French  vessels  sailed 
annually,  at  this  time,  to  America,  for  the  whale  and  cod  fishery  and 
the  fur-trade. 


148  RUIN  OF  FRENCH   ACADIA.  [1615. 

frosty  wilds,  till  at  length,  with  happier  auspices, 
I)lan8  of  settlement  were  resumed.^ 

Rude  hands  strangled  the  "  Northern  Paraguay  "  in 
its  hirtli.  Its  beginnings  had  been  feeble,  but  behind 
were  the  forces  of  a  mighty  organization,  at  once 
devoted  and  ambitious,  enthusiastic  and  calculating. 
Seven  years  later  the  "  Mayflower  "  landed  her  emi- 
grants at  Plymouth.  What  would  have  been  the 
issues  had  the  zeal  of  the  pious  lady  of  honor  preoc- 
cupied New  England  with  a  Jesuit  colony  ? 

In  an  obscure  stroke  of  lawless  violence  began  the 
strife  of  France  and  England,  Protestantism  and 
Rome,  which  for  a  century  and  a  half  shook  the 
struggling  communities  of  North  America,  and  closed 
at  last  in  the  memorable  triumph  on  the  Plains  of 
Abraham. 


^  There  is  an  autograph  letter  in  the  Archives  de  la  Marine  from 
Biencourt,  —  who  had  succeeded  to  his  father's  designation,  —  written 
at  Port  Royal  in  September,  1618,  and  addressed  "  aux  Autorites  de 
la  Ville  de  Paris,"  in  which  he  urges  upon  them  the  advantages  of 
establishing  fortified  posts  in  Acadia,  thus  defending  it  against  in- 
cursions of  the  English,  who  had  lately  seized  a  French  trader  from 
Dieppe,  and  insuring  the  continuance  and  increase  of  the  traffic  in 
furs,  from  which  the  city  of  Paris  derived  such  advantages.  More- 
over, he  adds,  it  will  serve  aa  an  asylum  for  the  indigent  and  suffering 
of  tlic  city,  to  their  own  great  benefit  and  the  advantage  of  the  muni- 
cipality, who  will  be  relieved  of  the  burden  of  their  maintenance.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  city  responded  to  his  appeaL 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1608,  1609. 

CHAMPLAIN  AT  QUEBEC. 

A  New  Enterprise. — The  St.  Lawrence.  —  Conflict  with 
Basques.  —  Tadoussac. —  Quebec  founded. —  Conspiracy.— 
Winter.  — The  Montagnais.  —  Spring.  —  Projects  of  Explo- 
ration. 

A  LONELY  ship  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence.  The 
white  whales  floundering  in  the  Bay  of  Tadoussac, 
and  the  wild  duck  diving  as  the  foaming  prow  drew 
near,  —  there  was  no  life  but  these  in  all  that  watery- 
solitude,  twenty  miles  from  shore  to  shore.  The 
ship  was  from  Honfleur,  and  was  commanded  by 
Samuel  de  Champlain.  He  was  the  iEneas  of  a 
destined  people,  and  in  her  womb  lay  the  embryo  life 
of  Canada. 

De  Monts,  after  his  exclusive  privilege  of  trade 
was  revoked  and  his  Acadian  enterprise  ruined,  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  abandoned  it  to  Poutrincourt. 
Perhaps  would  it  have  been  well  for  him  had  he 
abandoned  with  it  all  Transatlantic  enterprises;  but 
the  passion  for  discovery  and  the  noble  ambition  of 
founding  colonies  had  taken  possession  of  his  mind. 
These,  rather  than  a  mere  hope  of  gain,  seem  to 
have  been  his  controlling  motives ;  yet  the  profits  of 


150  CHAMPLAIN  AT   QUEBEC.  [1608. 

tlio  fur-trade  were  vital  to  the  new  designs  he  was 
meditating,  to  meet  the  heavy  outlay  they  demanded, 
and  he  solicited  and  obtained  a  fresh  monopoly  of  the 
traffic  for  one  year.^ 

Champlain  was,  at  the  time,  in  Paris ;  but  his  un- 
quiet thoughts  turned  westward.  He  was  enamoured 
of  the  New  World,  whose  rugged  charms  had  seized 
his  fancy  and  his  heart;  and  as  explorers  of  Arctic 
seas  have  pined  in  their  repose  for  polar  ice  and 
snow,  so  did  his  restless  thoughts  revert  to  the  fog- 
wrapped  coasts,  the  piny  odors  of  forests,  the  noise  of 
waters,  the  sharp  and  piercing  sunlight,  so  dear  to  his 
remembrance.  He  longed  to  unveil  the  mystery  of  that 
boundless  wilderness,  and  plant  the  Catholic  faith  and 
the  power  of  France  amid  its  ancient  barbarism. 

Five  years  before,  he  had  explored  the  St.  Lawrence 
as  far  as  the  rapids  above  Montreal.  On  its  banks, 
as  he  thought,  was  the  true  site  for  a  settlement,  —  a 
fortified  post,  whence,  as  from  a  secure  basis,  the 
waters  of  the  vast  interior  might  be  traced  back 
towards  their  sources,  and  a  western  route  discovered 
to  China  and  Japan.  For  the  fur-trade,  too,  the 
innumerable  streams  that  descended  to  the  great 
river  might  all  be  closed  against  foreign  intrusion  by 
a  single  fort  at  some  commanding  point,  and  made 
tributary  to  a  rich  and  permanent  commerce;  while 
—  and  this  was  nearer  to  his  heart,  for  he  had  often 
been  heard  to  say  that  the  saving  of  a  soul  was  worth 
more  than  the  conquest  of  an  empire  —  countless 
1  See  the  patent  in  Champlain  (1613),  163. 


1608.]  TADOUSSAC.  151 

savage  tribes,  in  the  bondage  of  Satan,  might  by  the 
Same  avenues  be  reached  and  redeemed. 

De  Monts  embraced  his  views ;  and,  fitting  out  two 
ships,  gave  command  of  one  to  the  elder  Pontgrav^, 
of  the  other  to  Champlain.  The  former  was  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  and  bring  back  the  cargo  of  furs 
which,  it  was  hoped,  would  meet  the  expense  of  the 
voyage.  To  Champlain  fell  the  harder  task  of  settle- 
ment and  exploration. 

Pontgrav^,  laden  with  goods  for  the  Indian  trade 
of  Tadoussac,  sailed  from  Honfleur  on  the  fifth  of 
April,  1608.  Champlain,  with  men,  arms,  and  stores 
for  the  colony,  followed,  eight  days  later.  On  the 
fifteenth  of  May  he  was  on  the  Grand  Bank ;  on  the 
thirtieth  he  passed  Gasp^,  and  on  tlie  third  of  June 
neared  Tadoussac.  No  living  thing  was  to  be  seen. 
He  anchored,  lowered  a  boat,  and  rowed  into  the 
port,  round  the  rocky  point  at  the  southeast,  then, 
from  the  fury  of  its  winds  and  currents,  called  La 
Pointe  de  Tons  les  Diables.^  There  was  life  enough 
within,  and  more  than  he  cared  to  find.  In  the  still 
anchorage  under  the  cliffs  lay  Pontgrav^'s  vessel, 
and  at  her  side  another  ship,  which  proved  to  be  a 
Basque  fur-trader. 

Pontgravd,  arriving  a  few  days  before,  had  found 
himself  anticipated  by  the  Basques,  who  were  busied 
in  a  brisk  trade  with  bands  of  Indians  cabined  along 
the  borders   of   the  cove.     He  displayed   the   royal 

1  Champlain  (1613).  166.  Also  called  La  Pointe  aux  Rochers. 
Ibid.  (1632),  119. 


152  CHAMPLAIN  AT   QUEBEC.  [1608. 

letUiis,  and  commanded  a  cessation  of  the  prohibited 
traffic;  but  the  Basques  proved  refractory,  declared 
tliat  they  would  trade  in  spite  of  the  King,  fired  on 
Pontgravd  with  cannon  and  musketry,  wounded  him 
and  two  of  his  men,  and  killed  a  third.  They  then 
boarded  his  vessel,  and  carried  away  all  his  cannon, 
small  arms,  and  ammunition,  saying  that  they  would 
restore  them  when  they  had  finished  their  trade  and 
were  ready  to  return  home. 

Champlain  found  his  comrade  on  shore,  in  a  dis- 
abled condition.  The  Basques,  though  still  strong 
enough  to  make  fight,  were  alarmed  for  the  conse- 
quences of  their  conduct,  and  anxious  to  come  to 
terms.  A  peace,  therefore,  was  signed  on  board 
their  vessel ;  all  differences  were  referred  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  French  courts,  harmony  was  restored, 
and  the  choleric  strangers  betook  themselves  to 
catching  whales. 

This  port  of  Tadoussac  was  long  the  centre  of  the 
Canadian  fur-trade.  A  desolation  of  barren  moun- 
tains closes  romid  it,  betwixt  whose  ribs  of  rugged 
granite,  bristling  with  savins,  birches,  and  firs,  the 
Saguenay  rolls  its  gloomy  waters  from  the  northern 
wilderness.  Centuries  of  civilization  have  not  tamed 
the  wildness  of  the  place ;  and  still,  in  grim  repose, 
the  mountains  hold  their  guard  around  the  waveless 
lake  that  glistens  in  their  shadow,  and  doubles,  in  its 
sullen  mirror,  crag,  precipice,  and  forest. 

Near  the  brink  of  the  cove  or  harbor  where  the 
vessels  lay,  and  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  a  brook 


1608.]  TADOUSSAC.  153 

which  formed  one  of  the  outlets  of  this  small  lake, 
stood  the  remains  of  the  wooden  barrack  built  by 
Chauvin  eight  years  before.  Above  the  brook  were 
the  lodges  of  an  Indian  camp,i  —  stacks  of  poles 
covered  with  birch-bark.  They  belonged  to  an 
Algonquin  horde,  called  Montagnais^  denizens  of 
surrounding  wilds,  and  gatherers  of  their  only  har- 
vest, —  skins  of  the  moose,  caribou,  and  bear ;  fur 
of  the  beaver,  marten,  otter,  fox,  wild-cat,  and  lynx. 
Nor  was  this  all,  for  there  were  intermediate  traders 
betwixt  the  French  and  the  shivering  bands  who 
roamed  the  weary  stretch  of  stunted  forest  between 
the  head-waters  of  the  Saguenay  and  Hudson's  Bay. 
Indefatigable  canoe-men,  in  their  birchen  vessels, 
light  as  egg-shells,  they  threaded  the  devious  tracks 
of  countless  rippling  streams,  shady  by-ways  of  the 
forest,  where  the  wild  duck  scarcely  finds  depth  to 
swim;  then  descended  to  their  mart  along  those 
scenes  of  picturesque  yet  dreary  grandeur  which 
steam  has  made  familiar  to  modern  tourists.  With 
slowly  moving  paddles,  they  glided  beneath  the  cliff 
whose  shaggy  brows  frown  across  the  zenith,  and 
whose  base  the  deep  waves  wash  with  a  hoarse  and  hol- 
low cadence ;  and  they  passed  the  sepulclu-al  Bay  of 
the  Trinity,  dark  as  the  tide  of  Acheron,  —  a  sanctu- 
ary of  solitude  and  silence :  depths  which,  as  the  fable 
runs,  no  sounding  line  can  fathom,  and  heights  at 
whose  dizzy  verge  the  wheeling  eagle  seems  a  speck. ^ 

1  Plan  du  Port  de  Tadoiissac,  Champlain  (1613),  172. 

*  Bouchetto  estimates  the  height  uf  these  cliffs  at  eighteen  huudrcd 


164  CHAMPLAIN  AT  QUEBEC.  [1608. 

Peace  being  established  with  the  Basques,  and  the 
wounded  Pontgravd  busied,  as  far  as  might  be,  in 
transferring  to  the  hold  of  his  ship  the  rich  lading  of 
the  Indian  canoes,  Champlain  spread  liis  sails,  and 
again  held  his  course  up  the  St.  Lawrence.  Far  to  the 
south,  in  sun  and  shadow,  slumbered  the  woody  moun- 
tains whence  fell  the  countless  springs  of  the  St.  John, 
behind  tenantless  shores,  now  white  with  glimmer- 
ing villages,  —  La  Chenaie,  Granville,  Kamouraska, 
St.  Roche,  St.  Jean,  Vincelot,  Berthier.  But  on 
the  north  the  jealous  wilderness  still  asserts  its  sway, 
crowding  to  the  river's  verge  its  walls,  domes,  and 
towers  of  granite;  and,  to  this  hour,  its  solitude  is 
scarcely  broken. 

Above  the  point  of  the  Island  of  Orleans,  a  con- 
striction of  the  vast  channel  narrows  it  to  less  than 
a  mile,  with  the  green  heights  of  Point  Levi  on  one 
side,  and  on  the  other  the  cliffs  of  Quebec.  ^     Here, 

feet.    They  overhang  the  river  and  bay.     The  scene  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  on  the  continent. 

^  The  origin  of  this  name  has  been  disputed,  but  there  is  no  good 
ground  to  doubt  its  Indian  origin,  which  is  distinctly  affirmed  by 
Champlain  and  Lescarbot.  Charlevoix,  Fasces  Chronologiques  (1608), 
derives  it  from  the  Algonquin  word  Qiiebeio,  or  Quelibec,  signifying  a 
narroicing  or  contracting  {rdrecissement).  A  half-breed  Algonquin  told 
Gameau  that  the  word  Quebec,  or  Oiiahec,  means  a  strait.  The  same 
writer  was  told  by  M.  Malo,  a  missionary  among  the  Micmacs,  a 
branch  of  the  Algonquins,  that  in  their  dialect  the  word  Kibec  had  the 
same  meaning.  Martin  says,  "  Les  Algonquins  I'appellent  Ouabec,  et 
les  Micmacs  Keheque,  c'est  k  dire,  'la  oil  la  riviere  est  fermee.'" 
(Martin's  Dressani,  App,,  326.)  The  derivations  given  by  La  Potherie, 
Le  Beau,  and  others,  are  purely  fanciful.  The  circumstance  of  the 
word  Quebec  being  found  engraved  on  the  ancient  seal  of  Lord  Suffolk 
(see  Hawkins,  Picture  of  Quebec)  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  curioiu 


1608.]  QUEBEC.  155 

a  small  stream,  the  St.  Charles,  enters  the  St. 
LawTence,  and  in  the  angle  betwixt  them  rises  the 
promontory,  on  two  sides  a  natural  fortress.  Between 
the  cliffs  and  the  river  lay  a  strand  covered  with 
walnuts  and  other  trees.  From  this  strand,  by  a 
rough  passage  gullied  do^vnward  from  the  place  where 
Prescott  Gate  now  guards  the  way,  one  might  climb 
the  heights  to  the  broken  plateau  above,  now  bur- 
dened with  its  ponderous  load  of  churches,  convents, 
dwellings,  ramparts,  and  batteries.  Thence,  by  a 
gradual  ascent,  the  rock  sloped  upward  to  its  highest 
summit.  Cape  Diamond,^  looking  down  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  from  a  height  of  three  hundred  and  j&fty 
feet.  Here  the  citadel  now  stands;  then  the  fierce 
sun  fell  on  the  bald,  baking  rock,  -with  its  crisped 
mosses  and  parched  lichens.  Two  centuries  and  a 
half  have  quickened  the  solitude  with  swarming  life, 
covered  the  deep  bosom  of  the  river  with  barge  and 
steamer  and  gliding  sail,  and  reared  cities  and  vil- 
lages on  the  site  of  forests ;  but  nothing  can  destroy 
the  surpassing  grandeur  of  the  scene. 

On  the  strand  between  the  water  and  the  cliffs 
Champlain's  axemen  fell  to  their  work.  They  were 
pioneers  of  an   advancing  host,  —  advancing,    it  is 

coincidence.  In  Cartier's  times  the  site  of  Quebec  was  occupied  by  a 
tribe  of  the  Iroquois  race,  who  called  their  village  Staclacone.  The 
Hurons  called  it,  says  Sagard,  Atou-ta-requee.  In  the  modern  Huron 
dialect,  Tiatou-ta-riti  means  the  narrows. 

^  Champlain  calls  Cape  Diamond  Mont  du  Gas  (Guast),  from  the 
family  name  of  De  Monts.  He  gives  the  name  of  Cape  Diamond  to 
Pointe  a  Puiseaux.    See  Map  of  Quebec  (1613). 


156  CIIAMPLAIN  AT   QUEBEC.  [160a 

true,  witli  feeble  and  uncertain  progress,  —  priests, 
soldiers,  peasants,  feudal  scutcheons,  royal  insignia: 
not  the  Middle  Age,  but  engendered  of  it  by  the 
stronger  life  of  modern  centralization,  sharply  stamped 
with  a  parental  likeness,  heir  to  parental  weakness 
and  parental  force. 

In  a  few  weeks  a  pile  of  wooden  buildings  rose  on 
the  brink  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  on  or  near  the  site  of 
the  market-place  of  the  Lower  Town  of  Quebec.^ 
The  pencil  of  Champlain,  always  regardless  of  pro- 
portion and  perspective,  has  preserved  its  likeness. 
A  strong  wooden  wall,  surmounted  by  a  gallery  loop- 
holed  for  musketry,  enclosed  three  buildings,  con- 
taining quarters  for  himself  and  his  men,  together 
with  a  courtyard,  from  one  side  of  which  rose  a  tall 
dove-cot,  like  a  belfry.  A  moat  surrounded  the 
whole,  and  two  or  three  small  cannon  were  planted 
on  salient  platforms  towards  the  river.  There  was  a 
large  storehouse  near  at  hand,  and  a  part  of  the 
adjacent  ground  was  laid  out  as  a  garden. 

In  this  garden  Champlain  was  one  morning  direct- 
ing his  laborers,  when  Tetu,  his  pilot,  approached 
him  with  an  anxious  countenance,  and  muttered  a 
request  to  speak  with  him  in  private.  Champlain 
assenting,  they  withdrew  to  the  neighboring  woods, 
when  the  pilot  disburdened  himself  of  his  secret. 
One  Antoine  Natel,  a  locksmith,  smitten  by  con- 
science or  fear,  had  revealed  to  him  a  conspiracy  to 
murder  his  commander  and  deliver  Quebec  into  the 

*  Compare  Faribault,  Voyages  de  Decouverte  au  Canada,  105. 


1608.]  CONSPIRACY   DISCOVERED.  157 

hands  of  the  Basques  and  Spaniards  then  at  Tadoussac. 
Another  locksmith,  named  Duval,  was  author  of  the 
plot,  and,  with  the  aid  of  three  accomplices,  had 
befooled  or  frightened  nearly  all  the  company  into 
taking  part  in  it.  Each  was  assured  that  he  should 
make  his  fortune,  and  all  were  mutually  pledged  to 
poniard  the  first  betrayer  of  the  secret.  The  critical 
point  of  their  enterprise  was  the  killing  of  Champlain. 
Some  were  for  strangling  him,  some  for  raising  a 
false  alarm  in  the  night  and  shooting  him  as  he  came 
out  from  his  quarters. 

Having  heard  the  pilot's  story,  Champlain,  remain- 
ing in  the  woods,  desired  his  informant  to  find 
Antoine  Natel,  and  bring  him  to  the  spot.  Natel 
soon  appeared,  trembling  with  excitement  and  fear, 
and  a  close  examination  left  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of 
his  statement.  A  small  vessel,  built  by  Pontgrav^ 
at  Tadoussac,  had  lately  arrived,  and  orders  were 
now  given  that  it  should  anchor  close  at  hand.  On 
board  was  a  young  man  in  whom  confidence  could  be 
placed.  Champlain  sent  him  two  bottles  of  wine, 
with  a  direction  to  tell  the  four  ringleaders  that  they 
had  been  given  him  by  his  Basque  friends  at 
Tadoussac,  and  to  invite  them  to  share  the  good 
cheer.  They  came  aboard  in  the  evening,  and  were 
seized  and  secured.  "Voyla  done  mes  galants  bien 
estonnez,"  writes  Champlain. 

It  was  ten  o'clock,  and  most  of  the  men  on  shore 
were  asleep.  They  were  wakened  suddenly,  and 
told  of  the  discovery  of  the  plot  and  the  arrest  of  the 


158  CIIAMPLAIN  AT  QUEBEC.  [1608. 

ringleaders.  Pardon  was  then  promised  them,  and 
they  were  dismissed  again  to  their  beds,  greatly- 
relieved;  for  they  had  lived  in  trepidation,  each 
fearing  the  other.  DuvaFs  body,  swinging  from  a 
gibbet,  gave  wholesome  warning  to  those  he  had 
seduced ;  and  his  head  was  displayed  on  a  pike,  from 
the  highest  roof  of  the  buildings,  food  for  birds  and 
a  lesson  to  sedition.  His  three  accomplices  were 
carried  by  Pontgrav^  to  France,  where  they  made 
their  atonement  in  the  galleys.^ 

It  was  on  the  eighteenth  of  September  that 
Pontgravd  set  sail,  leaving  Champlain  with  twent}^- 
eight  men  to  hold  Quebec  through  the  winter.  Three 
weeks  later,  and  shores  and  hills  glowed  with  gay 
prognostics  of  approaching  desolation,  —  the  yellow 
and  scarlet  of  the  maples,  the  deep  purple  of  the  ash, 
the  garnet  hue  of  young  oaks,  the  crimson  of  the 
tupelo  at  the  water's  edge,  and  the  golden  plumage 
of  birch  saplings  in  the  fissures  of  the  cliff.  It  was 
a  short-lived  beauty.  The  forest  dropped  its  festal 
robes.  Shrivelled  and  faded,  they  rustled  to  the 
earth.  The  crystal  air  and  laughing  sun  of  October 
passed  away,  and  November  sank  upon  the  shivering 
waste,  chill  and  sombre  as  the  tomb. 

A  roving  band  of  Montagnais  had  built  their  huts 
near  the  buildings,  and  were  buspng  themselves 
with  their  autumn  eel-fishery,  on  which  they  greatly 
relied  to  sustain  their  miserable  lives  throuofh  the 
winter.     Their  slimy  harvest  being   gathered,    and 

1  Lescarbot  (1612),  623;  Purchas,  IV.  1642. 


I608.J  THE  MONTAGNAIS.  159 

duly  smoked  and  dried,  they  gave  it  for  safe-keeping 
to  Champlain,  and  set  out  to  hunt  beavers.  It  was 
deep  in  the  winter  before  they  came  back,  reclaimed 
their  eels,  built  their  birch  cabins  again,  and  disposed 
themselves  for  a  life  of  ease,  until  famine  or  their 
enemies  should  put  an  end  to  their  enjoyments. 
These  were  by  no  means  without  alloy.  While, 
gorged  with  food,  they  lay  dozing  on  piles  of  branches 
in  their  smoky  huts,  where,  through  the  crevices  of 
the  thin  birch  bark,  streamed  in  a  cold  capable  at 
times  of  congealing  mercury,  their  slumbers  were 
beset  with  nightmare  visions  of  Iroquois  forays,  scalp- 
ings,  butcherings,  and  burnings.  As  dreams  were 
their  oracles,  the  camp  was  wild  with  fright.  They 
sent  out  no  scouts  and  placed  no  guard;  but,  with 
each  repetition  of  these  nocturnal  terrors,  they  came 
flocking  in  a  body  to  beg  admission  within  the  fort. 
The  women  and  children  were  allowed  to  enter  the 
yard  and  remain  during  the  night,  while  anxious 
fathers  and  jealous  husbands  shivered  in  the  darkness 
without. 

On  one  occasion,  a  group  of  wretched  beings  was 
seen  on  the  farther  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  like 
wild  animals  driven  by  famine  to  the  borders  of  the 
settler's  clearing.  The  river  was  full  of  drifting  ice, 
and  there  was  no  crossing  without  risk  of  life.  The 
Indians,  in  their  desperation,  made  the  attempt;  and 
midway  their  canoes  were  ground  to  atoms  among 
the  tossing  masses.  Agile  as  wild-cats,  they  all 
leaped  upon  a  huge  raft  of  ice,  the  squaws  carrying 


160  CIIAMPLAIN   AT   QUEBEC.  [1609. 

their  children  on  their  shoulders,  a  feat  at  which 
Champlain  marvelled  when  he  saw  their  starved  and 
emaciaterl  condition.  Here  they  began  a  wail  of 
despair;  when  happily  the  pressure  of  other  masses 
thrust  the  sheet  of  ice  against  the  northern  shore. 
They  landed  and  soon  made  their  appearance  at  the 
fort,  worn  to  skeletons  and  horrible  to  look  upon. 
The  French  gave  them  food,  which  they  devoured 
with  a  frenzied  avidity,  and,  unappeased,  fell  upon  a 
dead  dog  left  on  the  snow  by  Champlain  for  two 
months  past  as  a  bait  for  foxes.  They  broke  this 
carrion  into  fragments,  and  thawed  and  devoured  it, 
to  the  disgust  of  the  spectators,  who  tried  vainly  to 
prevent  them. 

This  was  but  a  severe  access  of  the  periodical 
famine  which,  during  winter,  was  a  normal  condition 
of  the  Algonquin  tribes  of  Acadia  and  the  Lower  St. 
Lawrence,  who,  unlike  the  cognate  tribes  of  New 
England,  never  tilled  the  soil,  or  made  any  reasonable 
provision  against  the  time  of  need. 

One  would  gladly  know  how  the  founders  of 
Quebec  spent  the  long  hours  of  their  first  winter ;  but 
on  this  point  the  only  man  among  them,  perhaps, 
who  could  write,  has  not  thought  it  necessary  to 
enlarge.  He  himself  beguiled  his  leisure  with  trap- 
ping foxes,  or  hanging  a  dead  dog  from  a  tree  and 
watching  the  hungry  martens  in  their  efforts  to  reach 
it.  Towards  the  close  of  winter,  all  found  abundant 
emploj-ment  in  nursing  themselves  or  their  neighbors, 
for  the  inevitable  scurvy  broke  out  with  virulence. 


1609.]  DETERMESTATION  TO  EXPLORE.  161 

At  the  middle  of  May,  only  eight  men  of  the  twenty- 
eight  were  alive,  and  of  these  half  were  suffering 
from  disease.  1 

This  wintry  pm'gatoiy  wore  away,  the  icy  stalac- 
tites that  hung  from  the  cliffs  fell  crashing  to  the 
earth ;  the  clamor  of  the  wild  geese  was  heard ;  the 
bluebirds  appeared  in  the  naked  woods;  the  water- 
willows  were  covered  with  their  soft  caterpillar-like 
blossoms ;  the  twigs  of  the  swamp  maple  were  flushed 
with  ruddy  bloom ;  the  ash  hung  out  its  black  tufts ; 
the  shad-bush  seemed  a  wreath  of  snow;  the  white 
stars  of  the  bloodroot  gleamed  among  dank,  fallen 
leaves ;  and  in  the  young  grass  of  the  wet  meadows 
the  marsh- marigolds  shone  like  spots  of  gold. 

Great  was  the  joy  of  Champlain  when,  on  the  fifth 
of  June,  he  saw  a  sailboat  rounding  the  Point  of 
Orleans,  betokening  that  the  spring  had  brought 
with  it  the  longed  for  succors.  A  son-in-law  of 
Pontgravd,  named  Marais,  was  on  board,  and  he 
reported  that  Pontgrav^  was  then  at  Tadoussac, 
where  he  had  lately  arrived.  Thither  Champlain 
hastened,  to  take  counsel  with  his  comrade.  His 
constitution  or  his  courage  had  defied  the  scurvy. 
They  met,  and  it  was  determined  betwixt  them,  that, 
while  Pontgrav^  remained  in  charge  of  Quebec, 
Champlain  should  enter  at  once  on  his  long-meditated 
explorations,  by  wliich,  like  La  Salle  seventy  years 
later,  he  had  good  hope  of  finding  a  way  to  China. 

But  there  was  a  lion  in   the   path.     The  Indian 

1  Champlain  (1G13),  205. 

VOL.    II.  —  U 


1(32  CIIAMPLAIN  AT   QUEBEC.  [1609. 

tribes,  to  wlioiii  peace  was  unknown,  infested  with 
their  scalping  parties  the  streams  and  pathways  of 
the  forest,  and  increased  tenfold  its  inseparable  risks. 
The  after  career  of  Charaplain  gives  abundant  proof 
that  he  was  more  than  indifferent  to  all  such  chances; 
yet  now  an  expedient  for  evading  them  offered  itself, 
so  consonant  with  his  instincts  that  he  was  glad  to 
accept  it. 

Diuiug  the  last  autumn,  a  young  chief  from  the 
banks  of  the  then  unknown  Ottawa  had  been  at 
Quebec ;  and,  amazed  at  what  he  saw,  he  had  begged 
Champlain  to  join  him  in  the  spring  against  his  ene- 
mies. These  enemies  were  a  formidable  race  of 
savages,  —  the  Iroquois,  or  Five  Confederate  Nations, 
who  dwelt  in  fortified  villages  within  limits  now 
embraced  by  the  State  of  New  York,  and  who  were  a 
terror  to  all  the  surrounding  forests.  They  were 
deadly  foes  of  their  kindred  the  Hurons,  who  dwelt 
on  the  lake  which  bears  their  name,  and  were  allies 
of  Algonquin  bands  on  the  Ottawa.  ^  All  alike  were 
tillei-s  of  the  soil,  living  at  ease  when  compared  with 
the  famished  Algonquius  of  the  Lower  St.  Lawrence. 

By  joining  these  Hurons  and  Algonquins  against 
their  Iroquois  enemies,  Champlain  might  make  him- 

'  The  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi,  between  the  latitudes  of  Lake 
Superior  and  of  the  Ohio,  were  divided,  with  slight  exceptions,  into 
two  groups  or  families,  distinguished  by  a  radical  difference  of  lan- 
guage. Dnc  of  these  families  of  tribes  is  called  Algonquin,  from  the 
name  of  a  small  Indian  community  on  the  Ottawa.  The  other  is 
called  the  Huron-Iroquois,  from  the  names  of  its  two  principal 
members. 


1600.]         MINGLING  IN  INDIAN  POLITICS.  163 

self  the  indispensable  ally  and  leader  of  the  tribes  of 
Canada,  and  at  the  same  time  light  his  way  to  dis- 
covery in  regions  which  otherwise  were  barred  against 
him.  From  first  to  last  it  was  the  policy  of  France 
in  America  to  mingle  in  Indian  politics,  hold  the 
balance  of  power  between  adverse  tribes,  and  envelop 
in  the  network  of  her  power  and  diplomacy  the 
remotest  hordes  of  the  wilderness.  Of  this  policy 
the  Father  of  New  France  may  perhaps  be  held  to 
have  set  a  rash  and  premature  example.  Yet  while 
he  was  apparently  following  the  dictates  of  his  own 
adventurous  spirit,  it  became  evident,  a  few  years 
later,  that  under  his  thirst  for  discovery  and  spirit  of 
knight-errantry  lay  a  consistent  and  deliberate  pur- 
pose. That  it  had  already  assumed  a  definite  shape 
is  not  likely ;  but  his  after  course  makes  it  plain  that, 
in  embroiling  himself  and  his  colony  with  the  most 
formidable  savages  on  the  continent,  he  was  by  no 
means  acting  so  recklessly  as  at  first  sight  would 
appear. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1609. 

LAKE  CHAMPLAIN. 

Champlain  joins  a  Wab  Party.  —  Preparation.  —  Departure. 
—  The  River  Richelieu. —  The  Spirits  consulted.  —  Dis- 
covery of  Lake  Champlain. —  Battle  WITH  the  Iroquois.— 
Fate  of  Prisoners.  —  Panic  of  the  Victors. 

It  was  past  the  middle  of  June,  and  the  expected 
warriors  from  the  upper  country  had  not  come,  —  a 
delay  which  seems  to  have  given  Champlain  little 
concern,  for,  without  waiting  longer,  he  set  out  with 
no  better  allies  than  a  band  of  Montagnais.  But,  as 
he  moved  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  saw,  thickly 
clustered  in  the  bordering  forest,  the  lodges  of  an 
Indian  camp,  and,  landing,  found  his  Huron  and 
Algonquin  allies.  Few  of  them  had  ever  seen  a 
white  man,  and  they  surrounded  the  steel-clad 
strangers  in  speechless  wonder.  Champlain  asked 
for  their  chief,  and  the  staring  throng  moved  with 
him  towards  a  lodge  where  sat,  not  one  chief,  but 
two ;  for  each  band  had  its  own.  There  were  feast- 
ing, smoking,  and  speeches;  and,  the  needful  cere- 
mony over,  all  descended  together  to  Quebec ;  for  the 
strangers  were  bent  on  seeing  those  wonders  of  archi- 


1609.]  INDIAN   ALLIES.  165 

lecture,  the  fame  of  which  had  pierced  the  recesses 
of  their  forests. 

On  their  arrival,  they  feasted  their  eyes  and  glutted 
their  appetites;  yelped  consternation  at  the  sharp 
explosions  of  the  arquebuse  and  the  roar  of  the 
cannon;  pitched  their  camps,  and  bedecked  them- 
selves for  their  war-dance.  In  the  still  night,  their 
fire  glared  against  the  black  and  jagged  cliff,  and  the 
fierce  red  light  fell  on  tawny  limbs  convulsed  with 
frenzied  gestures  and  ferocious  stampings;  on  con- 
torted visages,  hideous  ^vith  paint;  on  brandished 
weapons,  stone  war-clubs,  stone  hatchets,  and  stone- 
pointed  lances;  while  the  drum  kept  up  its  hollow 
boom,  and  the  air  was  split  with  mingled  yells. 

The  war-feast  followed,  and  then  all  embarked 
together.  Champlain  was  in  a  small  shallop,  carr}'- 
ing,  besides  himself,  eleven  men  of  Pontgrav^'s 
party,  including  his  son-in-law  Marais  and  the 
pilot  La  Routte.  They  were  armed  with  the  arque- 
buse, —  a  matchlock  or  firelock  somewhat  like  the 
modern  carbine,  and  from  its  shortness  not  ill  suited 
for  use  in  the  forest.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  June  ^ 
they  spread  their  sails  and  held  their  course  against 
the  current,  while  around  them  the  river  was  alive 
with  canoes,  and  hundreds  of  naked  arms  plied  the 
paddle  with  a  steady,  measured  sweep.  They  crossed 
the  Lake  of  St.  Peter,  threaded  the  devious  channels 
among    its   many   islands,    and   reached   at   last  the 

^  Champlain's  dates,  in  this  part  of  his  narrative,  are  exceedingly 
careless  and  confused,  May  and  June  being  mixed  indiscriminately. 


166  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN".  [1609. 

inoutli  (if  the  Riviere  des  Iroquois,  since  called  the 
]{i(  hclicu,  or  the  St.  John.i  Here,  probably  on 
the  site  of  the  towi  of  Sorel,  the  leisurely  Avarriors 
encamped  for  two  days,  hunted,  fished,  and  took  their 
ease,  regaling  their  allies  with  venison  and  wild- 
fowl. Tliey  quarrelled,  too;  tliree  fourths  of  their 
number  seceded,  took  to  their  canoes  in  dudgeon, 
and  paddled  towards  their  homes,  while  the  rest  pur- 
sued their  course  up  the  broad  and  placid  stream. 

Walls  of  verdure  stretched  on  left  and  right.  Now, 
aloft  in  tlie  lonely  air  rose  the  cliffs  of  Beloeil,  and 
now,  before  them,  framed  in  circling  forests,  the 
Basin  of  Chambly  spread  its  tranquil  mirror,  glitter- 
ing in  the  sun.  The  shallop  outsailed  the  canoes. 
Champlain,  leaving  his  allies  behind,  crossed  the 
basin  and  tried  to  pursue  his  course;  but,  as  he 
listened  in  the  stillness,  the  unwelcome  noise  of 
rapids  reached  his  ear,  and,  by  glimpses  through  the 
dark  foliage  of  the  Islets  of  St.  John  he  could  see 
the  gleam  of  snowy  foam  and  the  flash  of  hurrying 
waters.  Leaving  the  boat  by  the  shore  in  charge  of 
four  men,  he  went  w^ith  Marais,  La  Routte,  and  five 
others,  to  explore  the  wild  before  him.  They  pushed 
their  way  through  the  damps  and  shadows  of  the 
wood,  through  thickets  and  tangled  vines,  over  mossy 
rocks  and  mouldering  logs.  Still  the  hoarse  sui'ging 
of  the  rapids  followed  them;  and  when,  parting  the 
screen  of  foliage,  they  looked  out  upon  the  river, 
they  saw  it  thick  set  with  rocks  where,  plunging  over 
1  Also  called  the  Chambly,  the  St.  Louis,  and  the  Sorel. 


1609.]  THROUGH   THE   WH.DERXESS.  167 

ledges,  gurgling  under  drift-logs,  darting  along  clefts, 
and  boiling  in  chasms,  the  angry  waters  filled  the 
solitude  with  monotonous  ravings.^ 

Champlain  retraced  his  steps.  He  had  learned  the 
value  of  an  Indian's  word.  His  allies  had  promised 
him  that  his  boat  could  pass  unobstructed  throughout 
the  whole  journey.  "It  afflicted  me,"  he  says,  "and 
troubled  me  exceedingly  to  be  obliged  to  return  with- 
out having  seen  so  great  a  lake,  full  of  fair  islands 
and  bordered  with  the  fine  countries  which  they  had 
described  to  me." 

When  he  reached  the  boat,  he  found  the  whole 
savage  crew  gathered  at  the  spot.  He  mildly  rebuked 
their  bad  faith,  but  added,  that,  though  they  had 
deceived  him,  he,  as  far  as  might  be,  would  fulfil  his 
pledge.  To  this  end,  he  directed  Marais,  with  the 
boat  and  the  greater  part  of  the  men,  to  return  to 
Quebec,  while  he,  with  two  who  offered  to  follow 
him,  should  proceed  in  the  Indian  canoes. 

The  warriors  lifted  their  canoes  from  the  water, 
and  bore  them  on  their  shoulders  half  a  league  tlirough 
the  forest  to  the  smoother  stream  above.  Here  the 
chiefs  made  a  muster  of  their  forces,  counting  twenty- 
four  canoes  and  sixty  warriors.  All  embarked  again, 
and  advanced  once  more,  by  marsh,  meadow,  forest, 
and  scattered  islands,  —  then  full  of  game,  for  it  was 
an  uninhabited  land,  the  war-path  and  battle-ground 
of  hostile  tribes.     The  warriors   observed  a  certain 

*  In  spite  of  the  changes  of  civilization,  the  tourist,  with  Cham- 
plain's  journal  in  his  hand,  can  easily  trace  each  stage  of  his  progress. 


168  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN.  [1609. 

system  in  their  advance.  Some  were  in  front  as  a 
vanguard;  others  formed  the  main  body;  while  an 
equal  number  were  in  the  forests  on  the  flanks  and 
rear,  hunting  for  the  subsistence  of  the  whole;  for, 
though  they  had  a  provision  of  parched  maize  pounded 
into  meal,  they  kept  it  for  use  when,  from  the  vicinity 
of  the  enemy,  hunting  should  become  impossible. 

Late  in  the  day  they  landed  and  drew  up  their 
canoes,  ranging  them  closely,  side  by  side.  Some 
stripped  sheets  of  bark,  to  cover  their  camp  sheds; 
othei-s  gathered  wood,  the  forest  being  full  of  dead, 
dry  trees;  others  felled  the  living  trees,  for  a  barri- 
cade. They  seem  to  have  had  steel  axes,  obtained 
by  barter  from  the  French ;  for  in  less  than  two  hours 
they  had  made  a  strong  defensive  work,  in  the  form 
of  a  half-circle,  open  on  the  river  side,  where  their 
canoes  lay  on  the  strand,  and  large  enough  to  enclose 
all  their  huts  and  sheds. ^  Some  of  their  number  had 
gone  forward  as  scouts,  and,  returning,  reported  no 
signs  of  an  enemy.  This  was  the  extent  of  their 
precaution,  for  they  placed  no  guard,  but  all,  in  full 
securitTy,  stretched  themselves  to  sleep,  —  a  vicious 
custom  from  which  the  lazy  warrior  of  the  forest 
rarely  departs. 

They  had  not  forgotten,  however,  to  consult  their 

'  Such  extempore  works  of  defence  are  still  used  among  some 
tribes  of  the  remote  West.  The  author  has  twice  seen  them,  made  of 
trees  piled  together  as  described  by  Champlain,  probably  by  war  par- 
ties of  the  Crow  or  Snake  Indians. 

Champlain,  usually  too  concise,  is  very  nimu<e  in  his  description  of 
Ihe  march  and  encampment. 


1609.]  DIVINATION.  169 

oracle.  The  medicine-man  pitched  his  magic  lodge 
in  the  woods,  formed  of  a  small  stack  of  poles,  planted 
in  a  circle  and  brought  together  at  the  tops  like 
stacked  muskets.  Over  these  he  placed  the  filthy 
deer-skins  which  served  him  for  a  robe,  and,  creep- 
ing in  at  a  narrow  opening,  hid  himself  from  view. 
Crouched  in  a  ball  upon  the  earth,  he  invoked  the 
spirits  in  mumbling  inarticulate  tones;  while  his 
naked  auditor}',  squatted  on  the  ground  like  apes, 
listened  in  wonder  and  awe.  Suddenly,  the  lodge 
moved,  rocking  Avith  violence  to  and  fro,  —  by  the 
power  of  the  spirits,  as  the  Indians  thought,  while 
Champlain  could  plainly  see  the  tawny  fist  of  the 
medicine-man  shaking  the  poles.  They  begged  him 
to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on  the  peak  of  the  lodge,  whence 
fii-e  and  smoke  would  presently  issue;  but  with  the 
best  efforts  of  his  vision,  he  discovered  none.  Mean- 
while the  medicine-man  was  seized  with  such  con\ail- 
sions,  that,  when  his  divination  was  over,  his  naked 
body  streamed  with  perspiration.  In  loud,  clear  tones, 
and  in  an  unknown  tongue,  he  invoked  the  spirit, 
who  was  understood  to  be  present  in  the  form  of  a 
stone,  and  whose  feeble  and  squeaking  accents  were 
heard  at  intervals,  like  the  wail  of  a  young  puppy.  ^ 

1  This  mode  of  divination  was  universal  among  the  Algonquin 
tribes,  and  is  not  extinct  to  this  day  among  their  roving  Northern 
bands.  Le  Jeune,  Lafitau,  and  other  early  Jesuit  writers,  describe  it 
with  great  minuteness.  The  former  {Relation,  1634)  speaks  of  an 
audacious  conjurer,  who,  having  invoked  the  Manitou,  or  spirit,  killed 
him  with  a  hatchet.  To  all  apjjearance  he  was  a  stone,  which,  how- 
ever, when  struck  with  the  hatchet,  proved  to  be  full  of  flesh  and 
blood.     A  kindred  superstition  prevails  among  the  Crow  Indians. 


170  LAKE  CHA^IPLAIN.  [1600. 

In  this  manner  they  consulted  the  spirit  — as 
Champlain  thinks,  the  Devil  — at  all  their  camps. 
His  replies,  for  the  most  part,  seem  to  have  given 
them  great  content;  yet  they  took  other  measures,  of 
which  the  military  advantages  were  less  questionable. 
The  principal  chief  gathered  bundles  of  sticks,  and, 
without  wasting  his  breath,  stuck  them  in  the  earth 
in  a  certain  order,  calling  each  by  the  name  of  some 
warrior,  a  few  taller  than  the  rest  representing  the 
subordinate  chiefs.  Thus  was  indicated  the  position 
which  each  was  to  hold  in  the  expected  battle.  All 
gathered  round  and  attentively  studied  the  sticks, 
ranged  like  a  child's  wooden  soldiers,  or  the  pieces 
on  a  chessboard;  then,  with  no  further  instruction, 
they  formed  their  ranks,  broke  them,  and  reformed 
tliem  again  and  again  with  excellent  alacrity  and 
skill. 

Again  the  canoes  advanced,  the  river  widening  as 
they  went.  Great  islands  appeared,  leagues  in 
extent,  —  Isle  a  la  Motte,  Long  Island,  Grande  Isle ; 
channels  where  ships  might  float  and  broad  reaches 
of  water  stretched  between  them,  and  Champlain 
entered  the  lake  which  preserves  his  name  to  posterity. 
Cumberland  Head  was  passed,  and  from  the  opening 
of  the  great  channel  between  Grande  Isle  and  the 
main  he  could  look  forth  on  the  wilderness  sea. 
Edged  with  woods,  the  tranquil  flood  spread  south- 
ward beyond  the  sight.  Far  on  the  left  rose  the 
forest  ridges  of  the  Green  Mountains,  and  on  the 
right  the  Adirondacks,  —  haunts  in  these  later  years 


1609.]  m  THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY.  171 

of  amateur  sportsmen  from  counting-rooms  or  college 
halls.  Then  the  Iroquois  made  them  their  hunting- 
ground;  and  beyond,  in  the  valleys  of  the  Mohawk, 
the  Onondaga,  and  the  Genesee,  stretched  the  long 
line  of  their  five  cantons  and  palisaded  towns. 

At  night  tliey  encamped  again.  The  scene  is  a 
familiar  one  to  many  a  tourist;  and  perhaps,  standing 
at  sunset  on  the  peaceful  strand,  Champlam  saw  what 
a  roving  student  of  this  generation  has  seen  on  those 
same  shores,  at  that  same  hour,  —  the  glow  of  the 
vanished  siui  behind  the  western  mountains,  darkly 
piled  in  mist  and  shadow  along  the  sky;  near  at 
hand,  the  dead  pine,  mighty  in  decay,  stretching  its 
ragged  arms  athwart  the  burning  heaven,  the  crow 
perched  on  its  top  like  an  image  carved  in  jet;  and 
aloft,  the  nighthawk,  circling  in  liis  flight,  and,  with 
a  strange  whirring  sound,  diving  through  the  air 
each  moment  for  the  insects  he  makes  his  prey. 

The  progress  of  the  party  was  becoming  dangerous. 
They  changed  their  mode  of  advance  and  moved 
only  in  the  night.  All  day  they  lay  close  in  the 
depth  of  the  forest,  sleeping,  lounging,  smoking 
tobacco  of  their  own  raising,  and  beguiling  the  hours, 
no  doubt,  with  the  shallow  banter  and  obscene  jest- 
ing with  which  knots  of  Indians  are  wont  to  amuse 
their  leisure.  At  twilight  they  embarked  again,  pad- 
dling their  cautious  way  till  the  eastern  sky  began  to 
redden.  Their  goal  was  the  rocky  promontory  where 
Fort  Ticonderoga  was  long  afterward  built.  Thence, 
they  would  pass   the  outlet   of   Lake    George,   and 


172  LAKE  CHAAIPLAIN.  [1609. 

laimcli  tlieir  canoes  again  on  that  Como  of  the  wil- 
derness, whose  waters,  limpid  as  a  fountain-head, 
stretched  far  southward  between  their  flanking  moun- 
tiiins.  Landing  at  the  future  site  of  Fort  William 
Henry,  they  would  carry  their  canoes  through  the 
forest  to  the  river  Hudson,  and,  descending  it,  attack 
perhaps  some  outlying  town  of  the  Mohawks.  In 
the  next  century  this  chain  of  lakes  and  rivei's  became 
tlie  grand  highway  of  savage  and  civilized  war,  linked 
to  memories  of  momentous  conflicts. 

The  allies  were  spared  so  long  a  progress.  On 
the  morning  of  the  twenty-ninth  of  July,  after  pad- 
dling all  night,  they  hid  as  usual  in  the  forest  on  the 
western  shore,  apparently  between  Crown  Point  and 
Ticonderoga.  The  warriors  stretched  themselves  to 
tlieir  slumbers,  and  Champlain,  after  walking  till 
nine  or  ten  o'clock  through  the  surrounding  woods, 
returned  to  take  his  repose  on  a  pile  of  spruce-boughs. 
Sleeping,  he  dreamed  a  dream,  wherein  he  beheld  the 
Iroquois  di'owning  in  the  lake ;  and,  trying  to  rescue 
them,  he  was  told  by  his  Algonquin  friends  that  they 
were  good  for  nothing,  and  had  better  be  left  to  their 
fate.  For  some  time  past  he  had  been  beset  every 
morning  by  his  superstitious  allies,  eager  to  learn 
about  his  dreams ;  and,  to  this  moment,  his  unbroken 
shimliers  liad  failed  to  furnish  the  desired  prognostics. 
The  announcement  of  tliis  auspicious  vision  filled  the 
crowd  with  joy,  and  at  nightfall  they  embarked, 
flushed  with  anticipated  victories. ^ 

»  The  p,i\ver  of  dreams  an.ung  Indians  in  their  primitive  condition 
can  scarcely   be  over-estimated     Among  the  ancient   Hurons  and 


1609.]      ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  IROQUOIS.         173 

It  was  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when,  near 
a  projecting  point  of  land,  whicli  was  probably 
Ticonderoga,  they  descried  dark  objects  in  motion  on 
the  lake  before  them.  These  were  a  flotilla  of 
Iroquois  canoes,  heavier  and  slower  than  theirs,  for 
they  were  made  of  oak  bark.i  Each  party  saw  the 
other,  and  the  mingled  war-cries  pealed  over  the 
darkened  water.  The  Iroquois,  who  were  near 
the  shore,  having  no  stomach  for  an  aquatic  battle, 
landed,  and,  making  night  hideous  with  their  clamors, 
began  to  barricade  themselves.  Champlain  could  see 
them  in  the  woods,  laboring  like  beavers,  hacking 
down  trees  with  iron  axes  taken  from  the  Canadian 
tribes  in  war,  and  with  stone  hatchets  of  their  own 
making.  The  allies  remained  on  the  lake,  a  bowshot 
from  the  hostile  barricade,  their  canoes  made  fast 
together  by  poles    lashed   across.     All   night    they 

cognate  tribes,  they  were  the  universal  authority  and  oracle ;  but 
while  a  dreamer  of  reputation  had  unlimited  power,  the  dream  of  a 
vaurien  was  held  in  no  account.  There  were  professed  interpreters  of 
dreams.  Brebeuf,  Rel.  des  Ilurons,  117.  A  man,  dreaming  that  he 
had  killed  his  wife,  made  it  an  excuse  for  killing  her  in  fact.  All 
these  tribes,  including  the  Iroquois,  had  a  stated  game  called  Oiion- 
hara,  or  the  dreaming  game,  in  which  dreams  were  made  the  pretext 
for  the  wildest  extravagances.  See  Lafitau,  Charlevoix,  Sagard, 
Brebeuf,  etc. 

1  Champlain  (1613),  232.  Probably  a  mistake;  the  Iroquois 
canoes  were  usually  of  elm  bark.  The  paper-birch  was  used  wherever 
it  could  be  had,  being  incomparably  the  best  material.  All  the  tribes, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Saco  northward  and  eastward,  and  along  the 
entire  northern  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
Great  Lakes,  used  the  birch.  The  best  substitutes  were  elm  and 
spruce.  The  birch  bark,  from  its  laminated  texture,  could  be  peeled 
at  any  time ;  the  others  only  when  the  sap  was  in  motion. 


174  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN.  [1609. 

diinccd  with  as  much  vigor  as  the  frailty  of  their 
vessels  would  permit,  their  throats  making  amends 
inv  the  enforced  restraint  of  their  limbs.  It  was 
ai^necd  on  l)oth  sides  that  the  fight  should  be  deferred 
till  daybreak;  but  meanwhile  a  commerce  of  abuse, 
sarcasm,  menace,  and  boasting  gave  unceasing  exer- 
cise to  the  lungs  and  fancy  of  the  combatants,  — 
"much,"  says  Champlain,  "like  the  besiegers  and 
besieged  in  a  beleaguered  town." 

As  day  approached,  he  and  his  two  followers  put 
on  the  light  armor  of  the  time.  Champlain  wore  the 
doublet  and  long  hose  then  in  vogue.  Over  the 
doublet  he  buckled  on  a  breastplate,  and  probably  a 
back-piece,  while  his  thighs  were  protected  by  cuisses 
of  steel,  and  his  head  by  a  plumed  casque.  Across 
his  shoulder  hung  the  strap  of  his  bandoleer,  or 
ammunition-box;  at  his  side  was  his  sword,  and  in 
his  hand  his  arquebuse.^  Such  was  the  equipment 
of  this  ancient  Indian-fighter,  whose  exploits  date 
eleven  years  before  the  landing  of  the  Piu-itans  at 
Plymouth,  and  sixty-six  years  before  King  Philip's 
War. 

Each  of  the  tlu-ee  Frenchmen  was  in  a  separate 
canoe,  and,  as  it  grew  light,  they  kept  themselves 
hidden,  either  by  lying  at  the  bottom,  or  covering 
themselves  with  an  Indian  robe.  The  canoes  ap- 
proached the  shore,  and  all  landed  without  opposi- 

»  Champlain,  iu  his  rude  drawing  of  the  battle  (ed.  1613),  portrays 
hinisi'lf  and  his  equipment  with  sufficient  distinctness.  Compare 
plates  of  the  weapons  and  armor  of  the  period  in  Meyrick,  Ancient 
Armor,  and  Susane,  Histoire  de  I'Ancienne  Infanterie  Fran^aise. 


1609.]      ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  IROQUOIS.  175 

tion  at  some  distance  from  the  Iroquois,  whom  they 
presently  could  see  filing  out  of  their  barricade,  — 
tall,  strong  men,  some  two  hundred  in  number,  the 
boldest  and  fiercest  warriors  of  North  America.  They 
advanced  through  the  forest  with  a  steadiness  which 
excited  the  admiration  of  Champlain.  Among  them 
could  be  seen  three  chiefs,  made  conspicuous  by  their 
tall  plumes.  Some  bore  shields  of  wood  and  hide, 
and  some  were  covered  with  a  kind  of  armor  made  of 
tough  twigs  interlaced  with  a  vegetable  fibre  sup- 
posed by  Champlain  to  be  cotton.  ^ 

The  allies,  growing  anxious,  called  with  loud  cries 
for  their  champion,  and  opened  their  ranks  that  he 
might  pass  to  the  front.  He  did  so,  and,  advancing 
before  his  red  companions  in  arms,  stood  revealed  to 
the  gaze  of  the  Iroquois,  who,  beholding  the  warlike 
apparition  in  their  path,  stared  in  mute  amazement. 
"I  looked  at  them,"  says  Champlain,  "and  they 
looked  at  me.  When  I  saw  them  getting  ready  to 
shoot  their  arrows  at  us,  I  levelled  my  arquebuse, 
which  I  had  loaded  with  four  balls,  and  aimed  straight 
at  one  of  the  three  chiefs.  The  shot  brought  down 
two,  and  wounded  another.  On  this,  our  Indians  set 
up  such  a  yelling  that  one  could  not  have  heard  a 

1  According  to  Lafitau,  both  bucklers  and  breastplates  were  in 
frequent  use  among  the  Iroquois.  The  former  were  very  large  and 
made  of  cedar  wood  covered  with  interwoven  thongs  of  hide.  The 
kindred  nation  of  the  Hurons,  says  Sagard  {Voyuye  des  Hurons,  126- 
206) J  carried  large  shiekls,  and  wore  greaves  for  the  legs  and  cuirasses 
made  of  twigs  interwoven  with  cords.  His  account  corresponds  with 
that  of  Champlain,  who  gives  a  wood-cut  of  a  .varrior  thus  armed. 


170  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN".  [1609. 

tliunder-clap,  and  all  the  while  the  arrows  flew  thick 
on  both  sides.  The  Iroquois  were  greatly  astonished 
and  fricrhtened  to  see  two  of  their  men  killed  so 
quickly,  in  spite  of  their  arrow-proof  armor.  As  I 
was  reloading,  one  of  my  companions  fired  a  shot 
from  the  woods,  which  so  increased  their  astonish- 
ment that,  seeing  their  chiefs  dead,  they  abandoned 
tlie  field  and  fled  into  the  depth  of  the  forest."  The 
allies  dashed  after  them.  Some  of  the  Iroquois  were 
killed,  and  more  were  taken.  Camp,  canoes,  provi- 
sions, all  were  abandoned,  and  many  weapons  flung 
down  in  the  panic  flight.  The  victory  was  complete. 
At  night,  the  victors  led  out  one  of  the  prisoners, 
told  him  that  he  was  to  die  by  fire,  and  ordered  him 
to  sing  his  death-song  if  he  dared.  Then  they  began 
the  torture,  and  presently  scalped  their  victim  alive,  ^ 
when  Champlain,  sickening  at  the  sight,  begged 
leave  to  shoot  him.  They  refused,  and  he  turned 
away  in  anger  and  disgust;  on  which  they  called  him 
back  and  told  him  to  do  as  he  pleased.  He  turned 
again,  and  a  shot  from  his  arquebuse  put  the  wretch 
out  of  misery. 

*  It  has  been  erroneously  asserted  that  the  practice  of  scalping  did 
not  prevail  among  the  Indians  before  the  advent  of  Europeans.  In 
1535,  Cartier  saw  five  scalps  at  Quebec,  dried  and  stretched  on  hoops. 
In  1564,  Laudouuiere  saw  them  among  the  Indians  of  Florida.  The 
Algonquins  of  New  England  and  Nova  Scotia  were  accustomed  to  cut 
off  ami  carry  away  the  head,  which  they  afterwards  scalped.  Those 
of  Canada,  it  seems,  sometimes  scalped  dead  bodies  on  the  field.  The 
Algon<iuin  practice  of  carrying  off  heads  as  trophies  is  mentioned  by 
Lalemaut,  Roger  Williams,  Lescarbot,  and  Champlain.  Compare 
Historical  Magazine,  First  Series,  V.  253. 


1609.J  SAVAGE  MEMORIALS.  177 

The  scene  filled  him  with  horror ;  but  a  few  months 
later,  on  the  Place  de  la  Gr^ve  at  Paris,  he  might 
have  witnessed  tortures  equally  revolting  and  equally 
vindictive,  inflicted  on  the  regicide  Ravaillac  by  the 
sentence  of  grave  and  learned  judges. 

The  allies  made  a  prompt  retreat  from  the  scene  of 
their  triumph.  Three  or  four  days  brought  them  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu.  Here  they  separated; 
the  Hurons  and  Algonquins  made  for  the  Ottawa, 
their  homeward  route,  each  with  a  share  of  prisoners 
for  future  torments.  At  parting,  they  invited  Cham- 
plain  to  visit  their  towns  and  aid  them  again  in  their 
wars,  an  invitation  which  this  paladin  of  the  woods 
failed  not  to  accept. 

The  companions  now  remaining  to  him  were  the 
Montagnais.  In  their  camp  on  the  Richelieu,  one  of 
them  dreamed  that  a  war  party  of  Iroquois  was  close 
upon  them ;  on  which,  in  a  torrent  of  rain,  they  left 
their  huts,  paddled  in  dismay  to  the  islands  above 
the  Lake  of  St.  Peter,  and  hid  themselves  all  night 
in  the  rushes.  In  the  morning  they  took  heart, 
emerged  from  their  hiding-places,  descended  to 
Quebec,  and  went  thence  to  Tadoussac,  whither 
Champlain  accompanied  them.  Here  the  squaws, 
stark  naked,  swam  out  to  the  canoes  to  receive 
the  heads  of  the  dead  Iroquois,  and,  hanging  them 
from  their  necks,  danced  in  triumph  along  the 
shore.  One  of  the  heads  and  a  pair  of  arms 
were  then  bestowed  on  Champlain,  —  touching 
memorials   of   gratitude,    which,    however,    he    was 

VOL.    II. 12 


178  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN.  [1609. 

by  no  means  to  keep  for  himself,  but  to  present  to 
the  King. 

Thus  did  New  France  rush  into  collision  with  the 
redoubted  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations.  Here  was 
the  beginning,  and  in  some  measure  doubtless  the 
cause,  of  a  long  suite  of  murderous  conflicts,  bear- 
ing havoc  and  flame  to  generations  yet  unborn. 
Champlain  had  invaded  the  tiger's  den ;  and  now,  in 
smothered  fury,  tlie  patient  savage  would  lie  biding 
his  day  of  blood. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

1610-1612. 

WAR.  —  TRADE.  —  DISCOVERY. 

Champlain  at  Foxtainebleau.  —  Champlain  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence.—  Alarm.  —  Battle.  —  War  Parties.  —  Icebergs. — 
Adventurers.  —  Champlain  at  Montreal.  —  Return  to 
France.  —  The  Comte  de  Soissons.  —  The  Prince  de  Conde. 

Champlain  and  Pontgravd  returned  to  France, 
while  Pierre  Chauvin  of  Dieppe  held  Quebec  in  their 
absence.  The  King  was  at  Fontainebleau,  —  it  was 
a  few  months  before  his  assassination,  —  and  here 
Champlain  recounted  his  adventures,  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  the  lively  monarch.  He  gave  him 
also,  not  the  head  of  the  dead  Iroquois,  but  a  belt 
wrought  in  embroidery  of  dyed  quills  of  the  Canada 
porcupine,  together  with  two  small  birds  of  scarlet 
plumage,  and  the  skull  of  a  gar-fish. 

De  Monts  was  at  court,  striving  for  a  renewal  of 
his  monopoly.  His  efforts  failed;  on  which,  with 
great  spirit  but  little  discretion,  he  resolved  to  push 
his  enterprise  without  it.  Early  in  the  spring  of 
1610,  the  ship  was  ready,  and  Champlain  and 
Pontgrav^  Avere  on  board,  when  a  violent  illness 
aeized  the  former,  reducing  him  to  the  most  miserable 


1 80  WAR.  -  TRADE.  —  DISCOVERY.  [1610. 

of  all  conflicts,  the  battle  of  the  eager  spirit  against 
the  treacherous  and  failing  flesh.  Having  partially 
recovered,  he  put  to  sea,  giddy  and  weak,  in  wretched 
plight  for  the  hard  career  of  toil  and  battle  which  the 
New  World  offered  him.  The  voyage  was  prosperous, 
no  other  mishap  occurring  than  that  of  an  ardent 
youth  of  St.  Malo,  who  drank  the  health  of  Pontgrav^ 
with  such  persistent  enthusiasm  that  he  fell  over- 
board and  was   drowned. 

There  were  ships  at  Tadoussac,  fast  loading  with 
furs;  and  boats,  too,  higher  up  the  river,  anticipat- 
ing the  trade,  and  draining  De  Monts's  resources  in 
advance.  Champlain,  who  was  left  free  to  fight  and 
explore  wherever  he  should  see  fit,  had  provided,  to 
use  his  own  phrase,  "two  strings  to  his  bow."  On 
the  one  hand,  the  Montagnais  had  promised  to  guide 
him  northward  to  Hudson's  Bay;  on  the  other,  the 
Hurons  were  to  show  him  the  Great  Lakes,  with  the 
mines  of  copper  on  their  shores ;  and  to  each  the  same 
reward  was  promised,  —  to  join  them  against  the 
common  foe,  the  Iroquois.  The  rendezvous  was  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Richelieu.  Thither  the 
Hurons  were  to  descend  in  force,  together  with 
Algonquins  of  the  Ottawa;  and  thither  Champlain 
now  repaired,  while  around  his  boat  swarmed  a  mul- 
titude of  Montagnais  canoes,  filled  with  warriors 
whose  lank  hair  streamed  loose  in  the  wind. 

There  is  an  island  in  the  St.  Lawrence  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Richelieu.  On  the  nineteenth  of  June 
it  was  swarming  with  busy  and  clamorous  savages,  — 


16100  ALARM.  181 

Champlain's  Montagnais  allies,  cutting  down  the 
trees  and  clearing  the  ground  for  a  dance  and  a  feast ; 
for  they  were  hourly  expecting  the  Algonquin  war- 
riors, and  were  eager  to  welcome  them  with  befitting 
honors.  But  suddenly,  far  out  on  the  river,  they 
saw  an  advancing  canoe.  Now  on  this  side,  now  on 
that,  the  flashing  paddles  urged  it  forward  as  if  death 
were  on  its  track ;  and  as  it  drew  near,  the  Indians 
on  board  cried  out  that  the  Algonquins  were  in  the 
forest,  a  league  distant,  engaged  with  a  hundred 
warriors  of  the  Iroquois,  who,  outnumbered,  were 
fighting  savagely  within  a  barricade  of  trees. 

The  air  was  split  with  shrill  outcries.  The 
INIontagnais  snatched  their  weapons,  —  shields,  bows, 
arrows,  war-clubs,  sword-blades  made  fast  to  poles, 
—  and  ran  headlong  to  their  canoes,  impeding  each 
other  in  their  haste,  screeching  to  Champlain  to 
follow,  and  invoking  with  no  less  vehemence  the  aid 
of  certain  fur-traders,  just  arrived  in  four  boats  from 
below.  These,  as  it  was  not  their  cue  to  fight,  lent 
tliem  a  deaf  ear;  on  which,  in  disgust  and  scorn, 
they  paddled  off,  calling  to  the  recusants  that  they 
were  women,  fit  for  nothing  but  to  make  war  on 
beaver-skins. 

Champlain  and  four  of  his  men  were  in  the  canoes- 
They  shot  across  the  intervening  water,  and,  as  their 
prows  grated  on  the  pebbles,  each  warrior  flung  down 
his  paddle,  snatched  his  weapons,  and  ran  into  the 
woods.  The  five  Frenchmen  followed,  striving  vainly 
to  keep  pace  with  the  naked,   light-limbed  rabble, 


182  WAR. —TRADE.— DISCOVERY.  [1610. 

boumling  like  shadows  through  the  forest.  They 
quickly  disappeared.  Even  their  shrill  cries  grew 
faint,  till  Champlain  and  his  men,  discomforted  and 
vexed,  found  themselves  deserted  in  the  midst  of  a 
swamp.  The  day  was  sultry,  the  forest  air  heavy, 
close,  and  filled  with  hosts  of  mosquitoes,  "  so  thick, " 
says  the  chief  sufferer,  "  that  we  could  scarcely  draw 
hreath,  and  it  was  wonderful  how  cruelly  they  perse- 
cuted us."  ^  Through  black  mud,  spongy  moss,  water 
knee-deep,  over  fallen  trees,  among  slimy  logs  and 
entangling  roots,  tripped  by  vines,  lashed  by  recoiling 
houghs,  panting  under  their  steel  head-pieces  and 
heavy  corselets,  the  Frenchmen  struggled  on,  bewil- 
dered and  indignant.  At  length  they  descried  two 
Indians  running  in  the  distance,  and  shouted  to  them 
in  desperation,  that,  if  they  wanted  their  aid,  they 
must  guide  them  to  the  enemy. 

At  length  they  could  hear  the  yells  of  the  com- 
batants; there  was  light  in  the  forest  before  them, 
and  they  issued  into  a  partial  clearing  made  by  the 
Iroquois  axemen  near  the  river.  Champlain  saw 
their  barricade.  Trees  were  piled  into  a  circular 
breastwork,  trunks,  boughs,  and  matted  foliage 
forming  a  strong  defence,  within  which  the  Iroquois 
stood  savagely  at  bay.  Around  them  flocked  the 
allies,  half  hidden  in  the  edges  of  the  forest,  like 
hounds  around  a  wild  boar,   eager,   clamorous,   yet 

*  "  .  .  .  quantite  de  mousquites,  qui  estoient  si  espoisses  qn'elles 
ne  nous  permettoient  point  presque  de  reprendre  nostre  halaine,  tant 
elles  nous  perse'cutoient,  et  si  cruellement  que  c'estoit  chose  estrange." 
Champlain  (1613),  250. 


1610.]  BATTLE.  — VICTORY.  183 

afraid  to  rush  in.  They  had  attacked,  and  had  met 
a  bloody  rebuff.  All  their  hope  was  now  in  the 
French ;  and  when  they  saw  them,  a  yell  arose  from 
hundreds  of  throats  that  outdid  the  wilderness  voices 
whence  its  tones  were  borrowed,  —  the  whoop  of  the 
horned  owl,  the  scream  of  the  cougar,  the  howl  of 
starved  wolves  on  a  winter  night.  A  fierce  response 
pealed  from  the  desperate  band  within;  and,  amid  a 
storm  of  arrows  from  both  sides,  the  Frenchmen 
threw  themselves  into  the  fray,  filing  at  random 
through  the  fence  of  trunks,  boughs,  and  drooping 
leaves,  with  which  the  Iroquois  had  encircled  them- 
selves. Champlain  felt  a  stone-headed  arrow  splitting 
his  ear  and  tearing  through  the  muscles  of  his  neck. 
He  drew  it  out,  and,  the  moment  after,  did  a  similar 
office  for  one  of  his  men.  But  the  Iroquois  had  not 
recovered  from  their  first  terror  at  the  arquebuse; 
and  when  the  mysterious  and  terrible  assailants,  clad 
in  steel  and  armed  with  thunder-bolts,  ran  up  to  the 
barricade,  thrust  their  pieces  through  the  openings, 
and  shot  death  among  the  crowd  within,  they  could 
not  control  their  fright,  but  with  every  report  threw 
themselves  flat  on  the  ground.  Animated  with 
unwonted  valor,  the  allies,  covered  by  their  large 
shields,  began  to  drag  out  the  felled  trees  of  the 
barricade,  while  others,  under  Champlain's  direction, 
gathered  at  the  edge  of  the  forest,  preparing  to  close 
the  affair  with  a  final  rush.  New  actors  soon  appeared 
on  the  scene.  These  were  a  boat's  crew  of  the  fur- 
traders  under  a  young  man  of  St.    Malo,  one  Des 


184  WAR.  —  TRADE.  —  DISCOVERY.  [1610. 

Prairies,  wlio,  wlien  he  heard  the  firing,  could  not 
resist  the  impulse  to  join  the  fight.  On  seeing  them, 
Champlain  checked  the  assault,  in  order,  as  he  says, 
that  the  new-comers  might  have  their  share  in  the 
sport.  The  traders  opened  fire,  with  great  zest  and 
no  less  execution ;  while  the  Iroquois,  now  wild  with 
terror,  leaped  and  writhed  to  dodge  the  shot  which 
tore  through  their  frail  armor  of  twigs.  Champlain 
gave  the  signal;  the  crowd  ran  to  the  barricade, 
dragged  down  the  boughs  or  clambered  over  them, 
and  bore  themselves,  in  his  own  words,  "  so  well  and 
manfully,"  that,  though  scratched  and  torn  by  the 
sharp  points,  they  quickly  forced  an  entrance.  The 
French  ceased  their  fire,  and,  followed  by  a  smaller 
body  of  Indians,  scaled  the  barricade  on  the  farther 
side.  Now,  amid  bowlings,  shouts,  and  screeches, 
the  work  was  finished.  Some  of  the  Iroquois  were 
cut  do\vn  as  they  stood,  hewing  with  their  war-clubs, 
and  foaming  like  slaughtered  tigers;  some  climbed 
tlie  barrier  and  were  killed  by  the  fiirious  crowd 
without;  some  were  drowned  in  the  river;  while 
fifteen,  the  only  survivors,  were  made  prisoners. 
"By  the  grace  of  God,"  writes  Champlain,  "behold 
tlie  battle  won !  "  Drunk  with  ferocious  ecstasy,  the 
conquerors  scalped  the  dead  and  gathered  fagots  for 
the  living;  while  some  of  the  fur-traders,  too  late  to 
boar  pai-t  in  the  fight,  robbed  the  carcasses  of  their 
blood-bedrenched  robes  of  beaver-skin  amid  the 
derision  of  the  surrounding  Indians.^ 

'  Champlain    (1613),   254.      This   narrative,   like   most   others,   is 
much  abridged  in  the  edition  of  1632. 


1610.]  A   SAVAGE  CONCOURSE.  185 

That  night,  the  torture  fires  blazed  along  the  shore. 
Champlain  saved  one  prisoner  from  their  clutches, 
but  nothing  could  save  the  rest.  One  body  was 
quartered  and  eaten. ^  "As  for  the  rest  of  the 
prisoners,"  says  Champlain,  "they  were  kept  to  be 
put  to  death  by  the  women  and  girls,  who  in  this 
respect  are  no  less  inhuman  than  the  men,  and, 
indeed,  much  more  so;  for  by  their  subtlety  they 
invent  more  cruel  tortures,  and  take  pleasure  in  it." 

On  the  next  day,  a  large  band  of  Hurons  appeared 
at  the  rendezvous,  greatly  vexed  that  they  had  come 
too  late.  The  shores  were  thickly  studded  with 
Indian  huts,  and  the  woods  were  full  of  them.  Here 
were  warriors  of  three  designations,  including  many 
subordinate  tribes,  and  representing  three  grades  of 
savage  society,  —  the  Hurons,  the  Algonquins  of  the 
Ottawa,  and  the  Montagnais ;  afterwards  styled  by  a 
Franciscan  friar,  than  whom  few  men  better  knew 
them,  the  nobles,  the  burghers,  and  the  peasantry 
and  paupers  of  the  forest. ^  Many  of  them,  from  the 
remote  interior,  had  never  before  seen  a  white  man ; 

^  Traces  of  cannibalism  may  be  found  among  most  of  the  North 
American  tribes,  though  they  are  rarely  very  conspicuous.  Some- 
times the  practice  arose,  as  in  the  present  instance,  from  revenge  or 
ferocity  ;  sometimes  it  bore  a  religious  character,  as  with  the  Miamis, 
among  whom  there  existed  a  secret  religious  fraternity  of  man-eaters ; 
sometimes  the  heart  of  a  brave  enemy  was  devoured  in  tlie  idea  that 
it  made  the  eater  brave.  This  last  practice  was  common.  The  fero- 
cious threat,  used  in  speaking  of  an  enemy,  "  I  will  eat  his  heart,"  is 
by  no  means  a  mere  figure  of  speech.  The  roving  hunter-tribes,  in 
their  winter  wanderings,  were  not  infrequently  impelled  to  cannibalism 
by  famine. 

*  Sagard,  Voyage  des  Hurons,  1 84. 


1 86  WAR.  -  TRADE.  —  DISCOVERY.  [1610. 

and,  wrapped  like  statues  in  tlieir  robes,  they  stood 
gazing  on  the  French  with  a  fixed  stare  of  wild  and 
wondering  eyes. 

Judged  by  the  standard  of  Indian  war,  a  heavy 
blow  had  been  struck  on  the  common  enemy.  Here 
were  hundreds  of  assembled  warriors;  yet  none 
thonght  of  following  up  their  success.  Elated  with 
unexpected  fortune,  they  danced  and  sang;  then 
loaded  their  canoes,  hung  their  scalps  on  poles,  broke 
up  their  camps,  and  set  out  triumphant  for  their 
liomes.  Champlain  had  fought  their  battles,  and  now 
might  claim,  on  their  part,  guidance  and  escort  to  the 
distant  interior.  Why  he  did  not  do  so  is  scarcely 
apparent.  There  were  cares,  it  seems,  connected 
with  the  very  life  of  his  puny  colony,  which  demanded 
his  return  to  France.  Nor  were  his  anxieties  lessened 
by  the  arrival  of  a  ship  from  his  native  town  of 
Brouage,  with  tidings  of  the  King's  assassination. 
Here  was  a  death-blow  to  all  that  had  remained  of 
De  iNIonts's  credit  at  court;  while  that  unfortunate 
nobleman,  like  his  old  associate,  Poutrincourt,  was 
moving  with  swift  strides  toward  financial  ruin. 
With  the  revocation  of  his  monopoly,  fur-traders  had 
swarmed  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  Tadoussac  was  full 
of  them,  and  for  that  year  the  trade  was  spoiled. 
Far  from  aiding  to  support  a  burdensome  enterprise 
of  colonization,  it  was  in  itself  an  occasion  of  heavy 
loss. 

Champlain  bade  farewell  to  his  garden  at  Quebec, 
where  maize,  wheat,  rye,  and  barley,  with  vegetables 


1611.]  RIVAL  TRADERS.  187 

of  all  kinds,  and  a  small  vineyard  of  native  grapes, 
—  for  he  was  a  zealous  horticulturist,  ^  —  held  forth  a 
promise  which  he  was  not  to  see  fulfilled.  He  left 
one  Du  Pare  in  command,  with  sixteen  men,  and, 
sailing  on  the  eighth  of  August,  arrived  at  Honfleur, 
with  no  worse  accident  than  that  of  running  over  a 
sleeping  whale  near  the  Grand  Bank. 

With  the  opening  sj)ring  he  was  afloat  again. 
Perils  awaited  him  worse  than  those  of  Iroquois 
tomahawks;  for,  approaching  Newfoundland,  the 
ship  was  entangled  for  days  among  drifting  fields  and 
bergs  of  ice.  Escaping  at  length,  she  arrived  at 
Tadoussac  on  the  thirteenth  of  May,  1611.  She  had 
anticipated  the  spring.  Forests  and  mountains,  far 
and  near,  all  were  white  with  snow.  A  principal 
object  with  Champlain  was  to  establish  such  relations 
with  the  great  Indian  communities  of  the  interior  as 
to  secure  to  De  Monts  and  his  associates  the  advantage 
of  trade  with  them;  and  to  this  end  he  now  repaired 
to  Montreal,  a  position  in  the  gateway,  as  it  were,  of 
their  yearly  descents  of  trade  or  war.  On  arriving, 
he  began  to  survey  the  ground  for  the  site  of  a 
permanent  post. 

A  few  days  convinced  him,  that,  under  the  present 
system,  all  his  efforts  would  be  vain.  Wild  reports 
of  the  wonders  of  New  France  had  gone  abroad,  and 
a  crowd  of  hungry  adventurers  had  hastened  to  the 
land   of  promise,  eager  to  grow  rich,  they  scarcely 

1  Dnring  the  next  year,  he  planted  roses  around  Quebec.  Cham- 
plain  (1613),  313. 


188  WAR.  —  TRADE.  —  DISCOVERY.  [1611. 

knew  how,  and  soon  to  return  disgusted.  A  fleet  of 
boats  and  small  vessels  followed  in  Champlain's  wake. 
Within  a  few  days,  thirteen  of  them  arrived  at  Mon- 
treal, and  more  soon  appeared.  He  was  to  break  the 
ground ;  others  would  reap  the  harvest.  Travel,  dis- 
covery, and  battle,  all  must  inure  to  the  profit,  not 
of  the  colony,  but  of  a  crew  of  greedy  traders. 

Champlain,  however,  chose  the  site  and  cleared 
the  ground  for  his  intended  post.  It  was  immedi- 
ately above  a  small  stream,  now  running  under  arches 
of  masonry,  and  entering  the  St.  Lawrence  at  Point 
Callieres,  within  the  modern  city.  He  called  it 
Place  Royale ;  ^  and  here,  on  the  margin  of  the  river, 
he  built  a  wall  of  bricks  made  on  the  spot,  in  order 
to  measure  the  destructive  effects  of  the  "  ice-shove  " 
in  the  spring. 

Now,  down  the  surges  of  St.  Louis,  where  the 
mighty  floods  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  contracted  to  a 
narrow  throat,  roll  in  fury  among  their  sunken  rocks, 
—  here,  through  foam  and  spray  and  the  roar  of  the 
angry  torrent,  a  fleet  of  birch  canoes  came  dancing 
like  diy  leaves  on  the  froth  of  some  riotous  brook. 
They  bore  a  band  of  Hurons  first  at  the  rendezvous. 
As  they  drew  near  the  landing,  all  the  fur-traders' 
boats  blazed  out  a  clattering  fusillade,  which  was 
designed  to  bid  them  welcome,  but  in  fact  terrified 
many  of  them  to  such  a  degree  that  they  scarcely  dared 
to  come  ashore.     Nor  were   they  reassured  by  the 

^  The  mountain  being  Mont  Royal  (Montreal).  The  Hospital  of 
the  Gray  Nuns  wa.s  built  on  a  portion  of  Champlain's  Place  Rojale. 


1611.]  DESCENT  OF   THE  RAPIDS.  189 

bearing  of  the  disorderly  crowd,  who,  in  jealous 
competition  for  their  beaver-skins,  left  them  not  a 
moment's  peace,  and  outraged  all  their  notions  of 
decorum.  More  soon  appeared,  till  hundreds  of 
warriors  were  encamped  along  the  shore,  all  restless, 
suspicious,  and  alarmed.  Late  one  night  they  awak- 
ened Champlain.  On  going  with  them  to  their 
camp,  he  found  chiefs  and  warriors  in  solemn  con- 
clave around  the  glimmering  firelight.  Though  they 
were  fearful  of  the  rest,  their  trust  in  him  was  bound- 
less. "  Come  to  our  country,  buy  our  beaver,  build 
a  fort,  teach  us  the  true  faith,  do  what  you  will,  but 
do  not  bring  this  crowd  with  you."  The  idea  had 
seized  them  that  these  lawless  bands  of  rival  traders, 
all  well  armed,  meant  to  plunder  and  kill  them. 
Champlain  assured  them  of  safety,  and  the  whole 
night  was  consumed  in  friendly  colloquy.  Soon 
afterward,  however,  the  camp  broke  up,  and  the 
uneasy  warriors  removed  to  the  borders  of  the  Lake 
of  St.  Louis,  placing  the  rapids  betwixt  themselves 
and  the  objects  of  their  alarm.  Here  Champlain 
visited  them,  and  hence  these  intrepid  canoe-men, 
kneeling:  in  their  birchen  egfsr-shells,  carried  him 
homeward  down  the  rapids,  somewhat,  as  he  admits, 
to  the  discomposure  of  his  nerves.^ 

1  The  first  white  man  to  descend  the  rapids  of  St.  Louis  was  ayonth 
named  Louis,  who,  on  the  10th  of  June,  1611,  went  with  two  Indians  to 
shoot  herons  on  an  island,  and  was  drowned  on  the  way  down ;  the 
second  was  a  young  man  who  in  tlie  summer  before  had  gone  with  the 
Hurons  to  their  country,  and  who  returned  with  them  on  the  I3th  of 
June ;  the  third  was  Champlain  himself. 


190  WAR.  — TRADE.  — DISCOVERY.  [1612. 

The    great  gathering  dispersed;    the   traders    de- 
scended to   Tadoussac,   and  Champlain  to  Quebec; 
while  the  Indians  went,  some  to  their  homes,  some 
to  iiglit  the  Iroquois.     A  few  months  later,  Champlain 
was  in  close  conference  with  De  Monts  at  Pons,  a 
place  near  Rochelle,  of  which  the  latter  was  governor. 
The  last  two  years  had  made   it  apparent,  that,  to 
keep  the  colony  alive  and  maintain  a  basis  for  those 
discoveries  on  which  his  heart  was  bent,  was  impos- 
sible   without    a    change    of    system.     De    Monts, 
engrossed  with  the  cares  of  his  government,  placed 
all  in  the  hands  of  his  associate;  and   Champlain, 
fully  empowered  to  act  as  he  should  judge  expedient, 
set   out   for   Paris.     On   the  way.    Fortune,  at  one 
stroke,    wellnigli    crushed    him    and    New    France 
together;  for  his  horse  fell  on  him,  and  he  narrowly 
escaped  with  life.     When  he  was  partially  recovered, 
he  resumed  his  journey,  pondering  on  means  of  rescue 
for  the  fading  colony.     A  powerful  protector  must  be 
had,  —  a  great  name  to  shield  the   enterprise  from 
assaults  and  intrigues  of  jealous  rival  interests.     On 
reaching  Paris  he  addressed  himseK  to  a  prince  of 
the  blood,  Charles  de  Bourbon,   Comte  de  Soissons; 
described  New  France,  its  resources,  and  its  bound- 
less extent;   urged  the   need   of   unfolding   a   mys- 
tery pregnant  perhaps  with  results  of  the   deepest 
moment;  laid  before  him   maps   and  memoirs,    and 
begged   him   to  become  the   guardian  of   this   new 
world.      The    royal    consent    being    obtained,     the 
Comte  de  Soissons  became  Lieutenant-General   for 


1612.]  COND^.  191 

the  King  in  New  France,  with  vice-regal  powers. 
These,  in  turn,  he  conferred  upon  Champlain,  mak- 
ing him  his  lieutenant,  with  full  control  over  the 
trade  in  furs  at  and  above  Quebec,  and  with  power 
to  associate  with  himself  such  persons  as  he  saw 
fit,  to  aid  in  the  exploration  and  settlement  of  the 
country.  1 

Scarcely  was  the  commission  drawn  when  the 
Comte  de  Soissons,  attacked  with  fever,  died,  —  to 
the  joy  of  the  Breton  and  Norman  traders,  whose 
jubilation,  however,  found  a  speedy  end.  Henri  de 
Bourbon,  Prince  de  Cond^,  first  prince  of  the  blood, 
assumed  the  vacant  protectorship.  He  was  grandson 
of  the  gay  and  gallant  Cond^  of  the  civil  wars,  was 
father  of  the  great  Cond6,  the  youthful  victor  of 
Rocroy,  and  was  husband  of  Charlotte  de  Montmo- 
rency, whose  blond  beauties  had  fii-ed  the  inflammable 
heart  of  Henry  the  Fourth.  To  the  unspeakable 
wrath  of  that  keen  lover,  the  prudent  Condd  fled 
with  his  bride,  first  to  Brussels,  and  then  to  Italy; 
nor  did  he  return  to  France  till  the  regicide's  knife 
had  put  his  jealous  fears  to  rest.^  After  his  return, 
he  began  to  intrigue  against  the  court.  He  was  a 
man  of  common  abilities,  greedy  of  money  and  power, 
and  scarcely  seeking  even  the  decency  of  a  pretext 

1  Commission  de  Monseigneur  le  Comte  de  Soissons  donnee  au  Sieur 
de  Champlein,  15  Oct.,  1612.  See  Champlain  (1632),  231,  and  Memoires 
des  Commissaires,  II.  451. 

2  The  anecdote,  as  told  by  the  Princess  herself  to  her  wandering 
court  during  the  romantic  campaigning  of  the  Fronde,  will  be  found 
in  the  curious  Memoires  de  Lenet. 


192  WAR.  — TRADE.— DISCOVERY.  [1612. 

to  cover  his  mean  ambition.  ^  His  chief  honor  —  an 
honor  somewhat  equivocal—  is,  as  Voltaire  observes, 
to  liave  been  father  of  the  great  Cond^.  Busy  with 
his  intrigues,  he  cared  little  for  colonies  and  dis- 
coveries; and  his  rank  and  power  were  his  sole 
qualifications  for  his  new   post. 

In  Champlain  alone  was  the  life  of  New  France. 
By  instinct  and  temperament  he  was  more  impelled 
to  the  adventurous  toils  of  exploration  than  to  the 
duller  task  of  building  colonies.  The  profits  of  trade 
had  value  in  his  eyes  only  as  means  to  these  ends, 
and  settlements  were  important  chiefly  as  a  base  of 
discovery.  Two  great  objects  eclipsed  all  others,  — 
to  find  a  route  to  the  Indies,  and  to  bring  the  heathen 
tribes  into  the  embraces  of  the  Church,  since,  while 
he  cared  little  for  their  bodies,  his  solicitude  for 
their  souls  knew  no  bounds. 

It  was  no  part  of  his  plan  to  establish  an  odious 
monopoly.  He  sought  rather  to  enlist  the  rival 
traders  in  Ids  cause;  and  he  now,  in  concurrence 
with  De  Monts,  invited  them  to  become  sharers  in 
the  traffic,  under  certain  regulations,  and  on  condi- 
tion of  aiding  in  the  establishment  and  support  of  the 
colony.  The  merchants  of  St.  Malo  and  Rouen 
accepted  the  terms,  and  became  members  of  the  new 
company;  but  the  intractable  heretics  of  Rochelle, 
refractory  in  commerce  as  in  religion,  kept  aloof,  and 
preferred  the  chances  of  an  illicit  trade.     The  pros- 

^  Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville,  passim ;  Sismondi,  Histoire  des 
Franfais,  XXIV.,  XXV.,  passim. 


1612.]  COND^.  193 

pects  of  New  France  were  far  from  flattering;  for 
little  could  be  hoped  from  this  unwilling  league  of 
selfish  traders,  each  jealous  of  the  rest.  They  gave 
the  Prince  of  Condd  large  gratuities  to  secure  his 
countenance  and  support.  The  hungry  viceroy  took 
them,  and  with  these  emoluments  his  interest  in  the 
colony  ended. 


VOL.  II.  —  13 


CHAPTER  XII. 

1612,  1613. 

THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU. 

Illusions. —  A  Path  to  the  North  Sea.  —  The  Ottawa. —  Forest 
Travellers.  —  Indian  Feast.  —  The  Impostor  exposed.  —  Re- 
turn TO  Montreal. 

The  arrangements  just  indicated  were  a  work  of 
time.  In  the  summer  of  1612,  Champlain  was  forced 
to  forego  his  yearly  voyage  to  New  France;  nor, 
even  in  the  following  spring,  were  his  labors  finished 
and  the  rival  interests  brought  to  harmony.  Mean- 
while, incidents  occurred  destined  to  have  no  small 
influence  on  his  movements.  Three  years  before, 
after  his  second  fight  with  the  Iroquois,  a  young  man 
of  his  company  had  boldly  volunteered  to  join  the 
Indians  on  their  homeward  journey,  and  winter 
among  them.  Champlain  gladly  assented,  and  in  the 
following  summer  the  adventurer  returned.  Another 
young  man,  one  Nicolas  de  Vignau,  next  offered 
himself;  and  he  also,  embarking  in  the  Algonquin 
canoes,  passed  up  the  Ottawa,  and  was  seen  no  more 
for  a  twelvemonth.  In  1612  he  reappeared  in  Paris, 
bringing  a  tale  of  wonders;  for,  says  Champlain,  "he 
was  the  most  impudent  liar  that  has  been  seen  for 


1613.]  ILLUSIONS.  195 

many  a  day."  He  averred  that  at  the  sources  of  the 
Ottawa  he  had  found  a  great  lake;  that  he  had 
crossed  it,  and  discovered  a  river  flowing  northward; 
that  he  had  descended  this  river,  and  reached  the 
shores  of  the  sea ;  that  here  he  had  seen  the  wreck  of 
an  English  ship,  whose  crew,  escaping  to  land,  had 
been  killed  by  the  Indians;  and  that  this  sea  was 
distant  from  Montreal  only  seventeen  days  by  canoe. 
The  clearness,  consistency,  and  apparent  simplicity 
of  his  story  deceived  Champlain,  who  had  heard  of  a 
voyage  of  the  English  to  the  northern  seas,  coupled 
with  rumors  of  wreck  and  disaster,  ^  and  was  thus 
confirmed  in  his  belief  of  Vignau's  honesty.  The 
Mar^chal  de  Brissac,  the  President  Jeannin,  and 
other  persons  of  eminence  about  the  court,  greatly 
interested  by  these  dexterous  fabrications,  urged 
Champlain  to  follow  up  without  delay  a  discovery 
which  promised  results  so  important ;  while  he,  with 
the  Pacific,  Japan,  China,  the  Spice  Islands,  and 
India  stretching  in  flattering  vista  before  his  fancy, 
entered  with  eagerness  on  the  chase  of  this  illusion. 
Early  in  the  spring  of  1613  the  unwearied  voyager 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence. 
On  Monday,  the  twenty-seventh  of  May,  he  left  the 
island  of  St.  Helen,  opposite  Montreal,  with  four 
Frenchmen,  one  of  whom  was  Nicolas  de  Vignau, 
and  one  Indian,  in  two  small  canoes.     They  passed 

1  Evidently  the  voyage  of  Henry  Hudson  in  1610-12,  when  that 
navigator,  after  discovering  Hudson's  Strait,  lost  his  life  through,  a 
mutiny.  Compare  Je'remie,  Relation,  in  liecueil  de  Voyages  au  Nord, 
VI. 


196  THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1613. 

the  swift  current  at  St.  Ann's,  crossed  the  Lake  of 
Two  Mountains,  and  advanced  up  the  Ottawa  till 
the  rapids  of  Carillon  and  the  Long  Saut  checked 
their  course.  So  dense  and  tangled  was  the  forest, 
that  they  were  forced  to  remain  in  the  bed  of  the 
river,  trailing  their  canoes  along  the  bank  with  cords, 
or  pushing  them  by  main  force  up  the  current. 
Champlain's  foot  slipped;  he  fell  in  the  rapids,  two 
boulders,  against  which  he  braced  himself,  saving 
him  from  being  swept  down,  while  the  cord  of  the 
canoe,  twisted  round  his  hand,  nearly  severed  it.  At 
length  they  reached  smoother  water,  and  presently 
met  fifreen  canoes  of  friendly  Indians.  Champlain 
gave  them  the  most  awkward  of  his  Frenchmen  and 
took  one  of  their  number  in  return,  —  an  exchange 
greatly  to  his  profit. 

All  day  they  plied  their  paddles,  and  when  night 
came  they  made  their  camp-fire  in  the  forest.  He 
who  now,  when  two  centuries  and  a  half  are  passed, 
would  see  the  evening  bivouac  of  Champlain,  has 
but  to  encamp,  with  Indian  guides,  on  the  upper 
waters  of  this  same  Ottawa,  or  on  the  borders  of 
some  lonely  river  of  New  Brunswick  or  of  Maine. 

Day  dawned.  The  east  glowed  with  tranquil  fire, 
that  pierced  with  eyes  of  flame  the  fir-trees  whose 
jagged  tops  stood  drawn  in  black  against  the  burning 
heaven.  Beneath,  the  glossy  river  slept  in  shadow, 
or  spread  far  and  wide  in  sheets  of  burnished  bronze  i 
and  the  white  moon,  paling  in  the  face  of  day,  hung 
like  a  disk  of  silver  in  the  western  sky.     Now  a 


1613.]  CHAMPLAIN  ON  THE  OTTAWA.  197 

fervid  light  touched  the  dead  top  of  the  hemlock, 
and  creeping  downward  bathed  the  mossy  beard  of 
the  patriarchal  cedar,  unstirred  in  the  breathless  air; 
now  a  fiercer  spark  beamed  from  the  east;  and  now, 
half  risen  on  the  sight,  a  dome  of  crimson  fire,  the 
sun  blazed  with  floods  of  radiance  across  the  awakened 
wilderness. 

The  canoes  were  launched  again,  and  the  voyagers 
held  their  course.  Soon  the  still  surface  was  flecked 
with  spots  of  foam;  islets  of  froth  floated  by,  tokens 
of  some  great  convulsion.  Then,  on  their  left,  the 
falling  curtain  of  the  Rideau  shone  like  silver  betwixt 
its  bordering  woods,  and  in  front,  white  as  a  snow- 
drift, the  cataracts  of  the  Chaudiere  barred  their 
way.  They  saw  the  unbridled  river  careering  down 
its  sheeted  rocks,  foaming  in  unfathomed  chasms, 
wearying  the  solitude  with  the  hoarse  outcry  of  its 
agony  and  rage. 

On  the  brink  of  the  rocky  basin  where  the  plung- 
ing torrent  boiled  like  a  caldron,  and  puffs  of  spray 
sprang  out  from  its  concussion  like  smoke  from  the 
throat  of  a  cannon,  Champlain's  two  Indians  took 
their  stand,  and,  with  a  loud  invocation,  threw 
tobacco  into  the  foam,  —  an  offering  to  the  local 
spirit,  the  Manitou  of  the  cataract.  ^ 

1  An  invariable  custom  with  the  npper  Indians  on  passing  thia  place. 
When  many  were  j)resent,  it  was  attended  with  solemn  dances  and 
speeches,  a  contribution  of  tobacco  being  first  taken  on  a  dish.  It  was 
tliought  to  insure  a  safe  voyage;  but  was  often  an  occasion  of  disaster, 
since  hostile  war  parties,  lying  in  ambush  at  the  spot,  would  surprise 
and  kill  the  votaries  of  the  Manitou  in  the  very  presence  of  their 


198  THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1613. 

Tliey  shouldered  their  canoes  over  the  rocks,  and 
through  the  woods ;  then  launched  them  again,  and, 
with  toil  and  struggle,  made  their  amphibious  way, 
pushing  dragging,  lifting,  paddling,  shoving  with 
poles;  till,  when  the  evening  sun  poured  its  level 
rays  across  the  quiet  Lake  of  the  Chaudiere,  they 
landed,  and  made  their  camp  on  the  verge  of  a  woody 
island. 

Day  by  day  brought  a  renewal  of  their  toils.  Hour 
by  hour,  they  moved  prosperously  up  the  long  wind- 
ings of  the  solitary  stream;  then,  in  quick  succes- 
sion, rapid  followed  rapid,  till  the  bed  of  the  Ottawa 
seemed  a  slope  of  foam.  Now,  like  a  wall  bristling 
at  the  top  with  woody  islets,  the  Falls  of  the  Chats 
faced  them  with  the  sheer  plunge  of  their  sixteen 
cataracts;  now  they  glided  beneath  overhanging 
cliffs,  where,  seeing  but  unseen,  the  crouched  wild- 
cat eyed  them  from  the  thicket;  now  through  the 
maze  of  water-girded  rocks,  which  the  white  cedar 
and  the  spruce  clasped  with  serpent-like  roots,  or 
among  islands  where  old  hemlocks  darkened  the 
water  with  deep  green  shadow.  Here,  too,  the  rock- 
maple  reared  its  verdant  masses,  the  beech  its  glisten- 
ing leaves  and  clean,  smooth  stem,  and  behind,  stiff 
and  sombre,  rose  the  balsam-fir.  Here  in  the  tortuous 
chaimels  the  muskrat  swam  and  plunged,  and  the 
splasliing  wild  duck  dived  beneath  the  alders  or 
among  the  red  and  matted  roots  of  thirsty  water- 

gnardian.    It  is  on  the  return  voyage  that  Champlain  particularly 
describes  the  sacrifice. 


1613.]  FOREST   TRAVELLERS.  199 

willows.  Aloft,  the  white-pine  towered  above  a  sea 
of  verdure;  old  fir-trees,  hoary  and  grim,  shaggy 
with  pendent  mosses,  leaned  above  the  stream,  and 
beneath,  dead  and  submerged,  some  fallen  oak  thrust 
from  the  current  its  bare,  bleached  limbs,  like  the 
skeleton  of  a  drowned  giant.  In  the  weedy  cove 
stood  the  moose,  neck-deep  in  water  to  escape  the 
flies,  wading  shoreward,  with  glistening  sides,  as  the 
canoes  drew  near,  shaking  his  broad  antlers  and 
writhing  his  hideous  nostril,  as  with  clumsy  trot  he 
vanished  in  the  woods. 

In  these  ancient  wilds,  to  whose  ever  verdant 
antiquity  the  pyramids  are  young  and  Nineveh  a 
mushroom  of  yesterday;  where  the  sage  wanderer  of 
the  Odyssey,  could  he  have  urged  his  pilgrimage  so 
far,  would  have  surveyed  the  same  grand  and  stern 
monotony,  the  same  dark  sweep  of  melancholy  woods, 
—  here,  while  New  England  was  a  solitude,  and  the 
settlers  of  Virginia  scarcely  dared  venture  inland 
beyond  the  sound  of  a  cannon-shot,  Charaplain  was 
planting  on  shores  and  islands  the  emblems  of  his 
faith.  Of  the  pioneers  of  the  North  American  forests, 
his  name  stands  foremost  on  the  list.  It  was  he 
who  struck  the  deepest  and  boldest  strokes  into  the 
heart  of  their  pristine  barbarism.  At  Chantilly,  at 
Fontainebleau,  Paris,  in  the  cabinets  of  princes  and 
of  royalty  itself,  mingling  with  the  proud  vanities  of 
the  court;  then  lost  from  sight  in  the  depths  of 
Canada,  the  companion  of  savages,  sharer  of  their 
toils,   privations,   and  battles,  more  hardy,   patient, 


200  THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1613. 

and  bold  than  they,  — such,  for  successive  years,  were 
th(^  alternations  of  this  man's  life. 

To  follow  on  his  trail  once  more.  His  Indians  said 
that  the  rapids  of  the  river  above  were  impassable. 
Nicolas  de  Vignau  affirmed  the  contrary;  but,  from 
the  fii'st,  Vignau  had  been  found  always  in  the 
wrong.  His  aim  seems  to  have  been  to  involve  his 
leader  in  difficulties,  and  disgust  him  with  a  journey 
which  must  soon  result  in  exposing  the  imposture 
which  had  occasioned  it.  Champlain  took  counsel  of 
the  Indians.  The  party  left  the  river,  and  entered 
the  forest. 

"We  had  a  hard  march,"  says  Champlain.  "I 
carried  for  my  share  of  the  luggage  three  arquebuses, 
three  paddles,  my  overcoat,  and  a  few  bagatelles.  My 
men  carried  a  little  more  than  I  did,  and  suffered 
more  from  the  mosquitoes  than  from  their  loads. 
After  we  had  passed  four  small  ponds  and  advanced 
two  leagues  and  a  half,  we  were  so  tired  that  we 
could  go  no  farther,  having  eaten  nothing  but  a  little 
roasted  fish  for  nearly  twenty-four  hours.  So  we 
stopped  in  a  pleasant  place  enough  by  the  edge  of  a 
pond,  and  lighted  a  fire  to  drive  off  the  mosquitoes, 
which  plagued  us  beyond  all  description ;  and  at  the 
same  time  we  set  our  nets  to  catch  a  few  fish." 

On  the  next  day  they  fared  still  worse,  for  their 
way  was  through  a  pine  forest  where  a  tornado  had 
passed,  tearing  up  the  trees  and  piling  them  one  upon 
another  in  a  vast  "windfall,"  where  boughs,  roots, 
and   trunks   were   mixed  in   confusion.     Sometimes 


1613.]  MUSKRAT   LAKE.  201 

they  climbed  over  and  sometimes  crawled  through 
these  formidable  barricades,  till,  after  an  exhausting 
march,  they  reached  the  banks  of  Muskrat  Lake,  by 
the  edge  of  which  was  an  Indian  settlement.^ 

This  neighborhood  was  the  seat  of  the  principal 
Indian  population  of  the  river, ^  and,  as  the  canoes 
advanced,  unwonted  signs  of  human  life  could  l»e 
seen  on  the  borders  of  the  lake.  Here  was  a  rough 
clearing.  The  trees  had  been  burned;  there  was  a 
rude  and  desolate  gap  in  the  sombre  green  of  the  pine 
forest.     Dead   trunks,   blasted  and  black  with  fire, 

1  In  1867  a  man  in  the  employ  of  Captain  Overman  found,  on  the 
line  of  march  followed  bv  Champlain  from  the  pond  where  he  passed 
the  night  to  Muskrat  Lake,  a  brass  astrolabe  bearing  the  date  1603. 
As  the  astrolabe,  an  antiquated  instrument  for  taking  latitudes,  was 
not  many  years  after  Chainplain's  day  superseded  by  the  quadrant,  at 
least  so  far  as  French  usage  was  concerned,  the  conjecture  is  admissible 
that  this  one  was  dropped  by  him.  See  a  pamphlet  by  A.  J.  Ku.ssell, 
Champlain's  Astrolabe  (Montreal,  1879),  and  another  by  O.  H.  Marshall, 
Discovert/  of  an  Astrolabe  supposed  to  have  been  lost  by  Champlain  (New 
York,  1879). 

2  Usually  called  Algoumequins  or  Algonquins,  by  Champlain  and 
other  early  writers,  —  a  name  now  always  used  in  a  generic  sense  to 
designate  a  large  family  of  cognate  tribes,  speaking  languages  radi- 
cally similar,  and  covering  a  vast  extent  of  country. 

The  Algonquins  of  the  Isle  des  Allumettes  and  its  neighborhood  are 
most  frequently  mentioned  by  the  early  writers  as  la  Nation  de  I'Isle. 
Lalemant  (Relation  des  Hurons,  1639)  calls  them  Ehonkeronons.  Vi- 
mont  {Relation,  1640)  calls  them  Kichesipirini.  The  name  Algonquin 
was  used  generically  as  early  as  the  time  of  Sagard,  whose  Histoire  du 
Canada  appeared  in  1636.  Champlain  always  limits  it  to  the  tribes  of 
the  Ottawa. 

Isle  des  Allumettes  was  called  Isle  du  Borgne,  from  a  renowned  one- 
eyed  chief  who  made  his  abode  here,  and  who,  after  greatly  exas- 
perating the  Jesuits  by  his  evil  courses,  at  last  became  a  convert  and 
died  in  the  faith.  They  regarded  the  people  of  this  island  as  the 
haughtiest  of  all  the  tribes,     l^  Jeune,  Relation  (1636),  230. 


202  THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1613. 

stood  j:friinly  upright  amid  the  charred  stumps  and 
prostrate  bodies  of  comrades  half  consumed.  In  the 
intervening  spaces,  the  soil  had  been  feebly  scratched 
with  lioes  of  wood  or  bone,  and  a  crop  of  maize  was 
growing,  now  some  four  inches  high.i  The  dwellings 
of  these  slovenly  farmers,  framed  of  poles  covered 
with  sheets  of  bark,  were  scattered  here  and  there, 
singly  or  in  groups,  while  their  tenants  were  running 
to  the  shore  in  amazement.  The  chief,  Nibachis, 
offered  the  calumet,  then  harangued  the  crowd: 
"  These  white  men  must  have  fallen  from  the  clouds. 
How  else  could  they  have  reached  us  through  the 
woods  and  rapids  which  even  we  find  it  hard  to  pass  ? 
The  French  chief  can  do  anything.  All  that  we 
have  heard  of  him  must  be  true."  And  they  hastened 
to  regale  the  hungry  visitors  with  a  repast  of  fish. 

Champlain  asked  for  guidance  to  the  settlements 
above.  It  was  readily  granted.  Escorted  by  his 
friendly  hosts,  he  advanced  beyond  the  foot  of 
IMuskrat  Lake,  and,  landing,  saw  the  unaccustomed 
sight  of  pathways  through  the  forest.  They  led  to 
the  clearings  and  cabins  of  a  chief  named  Tessouat, 
wlio,  amazed  at  the  apparition  of  the  white  strangers, 
exclaimed  that  he  must  be  in  a  dream.  ^     Next,  the 

1  Champlain,  Quatri'esme  Voyage,  29.  This  is  a  pamphlet  of  fifty- 
two  pages,  containing  the  journal  of  his  voyage  of  1613,  and  apparently 
published  at  the  close  of  that  year. 

^  Te-^sDuat's  village  seems  to  have  been  on  the  lower  Lac  des  Alln- 
mettes,  a  wide  expansion  of  that  arm  of  the  Ottawa  which  flows  along 
the  southern  side  of  Isle  des  Allumettes.  Champlain,  perhaps  from 
the  loss  of  his  astrolabe,  is  wrong,  by  one  degree,  in  his  reckoning  of 


1613.]  INDIAN  FEAST.  203 

voyagers  crossed  to  tlie  neighboring  island,  then 
deeply  wooded  with  pine,  elm,  and  oak.  Here  were 
more  desolate  clearings,  more  rude  cornfields  and 
bark-built  cabins.  Here,  too,  was  a  cemetery,  which 
excited  the  wonder  of  Champlain,  for  the  dead  were 
better  cared  for  than  the  living.  Each  grave  was 
covered  with  a  double  row  of  pieces  of  wood,  inclined 
like  a  roof  till  they  crossed  at  the  ridge,  along  which 
was  laid  a  thick  tal)let  of  wood,  meant  apparently 
either  to  bind  the  whole  together  or  protect  it  from 
rain.  At  one  end  stood  an  upright  tablet,  or  flat- 
tened post,  rudely  carved  with  an  intended  represen- 
tation of  the  features  of  the  deceased.  If  a  chief, 
the  head  was  adorned  with  a  plume.  If  a  warrior, 
there  were  figures  near  it  of  a  shield,  a  lance,  a  war- 
club,  and  a  bow  and  arrows ;  if  a  boy,  of  a  small  bow 
and  one  arrow;  and  if  a  woman  or  a  girl,  of  a  kettle, 
an  earthen  pot,  a  wooden  spoon,  and  a  paddle.  The 
whole  was  decorated  with  red  and  yellow  paint;  and 
beneath  slept  the  departed,  wra])ped  in  a  robe  of 
skins,  his  eartlily  treasures  about  him,  ready  for  use 
in  tlie  land  of  souls. 

Tessouat  was  to  give  a  tahagie^  or  solemn  feast,  in 
honor  of  Champlain,  and  the  chiefs  and  eldci>5  of  the 
island  were  invited.  Runnei-s  were  sent  to  summon 
the  guests  from  neighboring  hamlets;  and,  on  the 
morrow,  Tessouat's  squaws  swept  his  cabin  for  the 

the  latitude,  47°  for  46°.  Tessouat  was  father,  or  predecessor,  of  the 
chief  Lo  Borguo,  wliose  Indian  name  was  the  same.  Sco  note  2,  ante, 
p.  201. 


204  THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1613. 

festivity.  Then  Champlain  and  his  Frenchmen  were 
seated  on  skins  in  the  place  of  honor,  and  the  naked 
guests  appeared  in  quick  succession,  each  with  his 
-wooden  dish  and  spoon,  and  each  ejaculating  his 
guttural  salute  as  he  stooped  at  the  low  door.  The 
spacious  cabin  was  full.  The  congregated  wisdom 
and  prowess  of  the  nation  sat  expectant  on  the  bare 
earth.  Each  long,  bare  arm  thmst  forth  its  dish  in 
turn  as  the  host  served  out  the  banquet,  in  Avhich,  as 
courtesy  enjoined,  he  himself  was  to  have  no  share. 
First,  a  mess  of  pounded  maize,  in  which  were  boiled, 
without  salt,  morsels  of  fish  and  dark  scraps  of  meat ; 
then,  fish  and  flesh  broiled  on  the  embers,  with  a 
kettle  of  cold  water  from  the  river.  Champlain,  in 
wise  distrust  of  Ottawa  cookery,  confined  himself  to 
the  simpler  and  less  doubtful  viands.  A  few  minutes, 
and  all  alike  had  vanished.  The  kettles  were  empty. 
Then  pipes  were  filled  and  touched  with  fire  brought 
in  by  the  squaws,  while  the  young  men  who  had  stood 
thronged  about  the  entrance  now  modestly  withdrew, 
and  the  door  ,was  closed  for  counsel.  ^ 

First,  the  pipes  were  passed  to  Champlain.  Then, 
for  full  half  an  hour,  the  assembly  smoked  in  silence. 
At  length,    when    the   fitting    time   was    come,    he 

^  Champlain's  account  of  this  feast  {Quatriesme  Voyage,  32)  is  un- 
usnally  minute  and  graphic.  In  every  particular  —  excepting  the 
pounded  maize  — it  might,  as  the  writer  can  attest  from  personal 
experience,  be  taken  as  the  description  of  a  similar  feast  among  some 
of  the  tribes  of  the  Far  West  at  the  present  day,  —  as,  for  example, 
one  of  the  remoter  bands  of  the  Dacotah,  a  race  radically  distinct  from 
the  Algonquin. 


1613.]  INDIAN  COUNCIL.  205 

addressed  them  in  a  speech  in  which  he  declared, 
that,  moved  by  affection  for  them,  he  visited  their 
country  to  see  its  richness  and  its  beauty,  and  to  aid 
them  in  their  wars;  and  he  now  begged  them  to 
furnish  him  with  four  canoes  and  eight  men,  to  con- 
vey him  to  tlie  country  of  the  Nipissiugs,  a  tribe 
dwelling  northward  on  the  lake  which  bears  their 
name.^ 

His  audience  looked  grave,  for  they  were  but  cold 
and  jealous  friends  of  the  Nipissiugs.  For  a  time 
they  discoursed  in  murmuring  tones  among  them- 
selves, all  smoking  meanwhile  with  redoubled  vigor. 
Then  Tessouat,  chief  of  these  forest  republicans,  rose 
and  spoke  in  behalf  of  all :  — 

"  We  always  knew  you  for  our  best  friend  among 
the  Frenchmen.  We  love  you  like  our  own  children. 
But  why  did  you  break  your  word  with  us  last  year 
when  we  all  went  down  to  meet  you  at  Montreal,  to 
give  you  presents  and  go  with  you  to  war?  You 
were  not  there,  but  other  Frenchmen  were  there  who 
abused  us.  We  will  never  go  again.  As  for  the 
four  canoes,  you  shall  have  them  if  you  insist  upon 
it;  but  it  grieves  us  to  think  of  the  hardships  you 

1  The  Nebecerini  of  Champlain,  called  also  NIpissingues,  Nipissiri- 
mens,  Nibissirinieus,  Bissii-inlois,  Epiciriniens,  by  various  early  Freuch 
writers.  They  are  the  Askifcouanheronons  of  Laleinaut,  who  borrowed 
the  name  from  the  Huron  tongue,  and  were  also  called  Sorciers  from 
tlieir  ill  repute  as  magicians.  They  belonged,  like  the  Ottawas,  to  the 
great  Algonquin  family,  and  are  considered  by  Cliarlevoix  (Journal 
Historique,  186)  as  alone  preserving  the  original  type  of  that  race  and 
language.  They  had,  however,  borrowed  certain  usages  from  their 
Huron  neighbors. 


206  THE  BIPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1013. 

must  endure.  The  Nipissings  have  weak  hearts. 
They  are  good  for  nothing  m  war,  but  they  kill  us 
witli  clianns,  and  they  poison  us.  Therefore  we  are 
on  bad  tenns  with  them.     They  will  kill  you,  too." 

Such  was  the  pith  of  Tessouat's  discourse,  and  at 
each  clause  the  conclave  responded  in  unison  with  an 
approving  grunt. 

Champlain  urged  his  petition;  sought  to  relieve 
their  tender  scruples  in  his  behalf;  assured  them  that 
he  was  charm-proof,  and  that  he  feared  no  hardships. 
At  length  he  gained  his  point.  The  canoes  and  the 
men  were  promised,  and,  seeing  himself  as  he  thought 
on  the  highway  to  his  phantom  Northern  Sea,  he  left 
his  entertainers  to  their  pipes,  and  with  a  light  heart 
issued  from  the  close  and  smoky  den  to  breathe  the 
fresh  air  of  the  afternoon.  He  visited  the  Indian 
fields,  with  their  young  crops  of  pumpkins,  beans, 
and  French  peas,  —  the  last  a  novelty  obtained  from 
the  traders.  1  Here,  Thomas,  the  interpreter,  soon 
joined  him  Avith  a  countenance  of  ill  news.  In  the 
absence  of  Champlain,  the  assembly  had  reconsidered 
their  assent.     The  canoes  were  denied. 

With  a  troubled  mind  he  hastened  again  to  the 
hall  of  council,  and  addressed  the  naked  senate  in 
terms  better  suited  to  his  exigencies  than  to  their 
dignity :  — 

1  "  Pour  passer  le  reste  du  jour,  je  fus  me  pourmener  par  les  jardins, 
qui  nVstoient  rcuiplis  que  de  ([ueliiues  citrouilles,  phasioles,  et  de  nos 
pois,  qu'il  coninieuceut  a  cultiver,  oil  Thomas,  mon  truchement,  qui 
eutendoit  fort  bien  la  laugue,  me  vint  trouver,"  etc.  Champlain  (1632) 
Lib.  IV.  c.  2. 


1613.J  IXDIAN  COUNCIL.  207 

"I  thought  you  were  men;  I  thought  you  would 
hold  fast  to  your  word:  but  I  find  you  children, 
^vithout  truth.  You  call  yourselves  my  friends,  yet 
you  break  faith  with  me.  Still  I  would  not  incom- 
mode you;  and  if  you  cannot  give  me  four  canoes, 
two  will  serve.  "^ 

The  burden  of  the  reply  was,  rapids,  rocks,  cata- 
racts, and  the  wickedness  of  the  Nipissings.  "We 
will  not  give  you  the  canoes,  because  we  are  afraid  of 
losing  you,"  they  said. 

"Tliis  young  man,"  rejomed  Champlain,  pointing 
to  Vignau,  who  sat  by  his  side,  "has  been  to  their 
country,  and  did  not  find  the  road  or  the  people  so 
bad  as  you  have  said." 

"Nicolas,"  demanded  Tessouat,  "did  you  say  that 
you  had  been  to  the  Nipissings?" 

The  impostor  sat  mute  for  a  time,  and  then  replied, 
"Yes,  I  have  been  there." 

Hereupon  an  outcry  broke  from  the  assembly,  and 
they  turned  their  eyes  on  him  askance,  "as  if,"  says 
Champlain,  "  they  would  have  torn  and  eaten  him. " 

"You  are  a  liar,"  returned  the  unceremonious 
host;  "you  know  very  well  that  you  slept  here  among 
my  children  eveiy  night,  and  got  up  again  every 
morning ;  and  if  you  ever  went  to  the  Nipissings,  it 
must  have  been  when  you  were  asleep.  How  can 
you  be  so  impudent  as  to  lie  to  your  chief,  and  so 

1  ".  .  .  et  leur  dis,  que  je  les  avois  jusques  h,  ce  jour  estimez 
homines,  et  veritables,  et  que  niaintenant  ils  ce  moustroient  enfants  et 
meiisongerg,"  etc.    Chauiplaiu  (1632),  Lib.  IV.  c.  2. 


208  THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1613. 

wicked  as  to  risk  his  life  among  so  many  dangers? 
He  ought  to  kill  you  with  tortures  worse  than  those 
with  which  we  kill  our  enemies.  "^ 

Chiiinpliiin  urged  him  to  reply,  but  he  sat  motion- 
less and  dumb.  Then  he  led  him  from  the  cabin, 
and  conjured  him  to  declare  if  in  truth  he  had  seen 
this  sea  of  the  north.  Vignau,  with  oaths,  affirmed 
that  all  he  had  said  was  true.  Returning  to  the 
council,  Champlain  repeated  the  impostor's  stoiy  — 
how  he  had  seen  the  sea,  the  wreck  of  an  English 
ship,  the  heads  of  eighty  Englishmen,  and  an  English 
boy,  prisoner  among  the  Indians. 

At  this,  an  outcry  rose  louder  than  before,  and  the 
Indians  turned  in  ire  upon  Vignau. 

"You  are  a  Uar."  "Which  way  did  you  go?'* 
"Bywhatrivei-s?"  "  By  what  lakes  ?  "  "Who  went 
with  you?" 

Vignau  had  made  a  map  of  his  travels,  which 
Champlain  now  produced,  desiring  him  to  explain  it 
to  his  questioners ;  but  his  assurance  failed  him,  and 
he  could  not  utter  a  word. 

Champlain  was  greatly  agitated.  His  heart  was  in 
the  enterprise,  his  reputation  was  in  a   measure  at 

^  "  Alors  Tessouat  .  .  .  luy  dit  en  son  langage ;  Nicolas,  est-il 
vray  que  tu  as  dit  avoir  este  aux  Nebecerini?  11  fut  longtemps  sans 
parler,  puis  il  leur  dit  eu  leur  laugue,  qu'il  parloit  aucunement :  Ouy 
j'y  ay  este.  Aussitost  ils  le  regarderent  de  travers,  et  se  jettant  sur 
luy,  conune  s'ils  I'eussent  voulu  manger  ou  deschirer,  firent  de  grands 
cris,  et  Tessouat  luy  dit :  Tu  es  un  asseure  menteur :  tu  S9ais  bien  que 
tous  les  soirs  tu  couchois  k  mes  costez  avec  mes  enfants,  et  tous  les 
matins  tu  t'y  levois :  si  tu  as  este  vers  ces  peuples,  9'a  este  en  dormant," 
etc.     Champlain  (1632),  Lib.  IV.  c.  2. 


1613.]  THE  IMPOSTOR  UNMASKED.  209 

stake;  and  now,  when  he  thought  his  triumph  so 
near,  he  shrank  from  believing  liiraself  the  sport  of  an 
impudent  impostor.  The  council  broke  up,  —  the 
Indians  displeased  and  moody,  and  he,  on  his  part, 
full  of  anxieties  and  doubts. 

"I  called  Vignau  to  me  in  presence  of  his  com- 
panions," he  says.  "I  told  him  that  the  time  for 
deceiving  me  was  ended;  that  he  must  tell  me 
whether  or  not  he  had  really  seen  the  things  he  had 
told  of ;  that  I  had  forgotten  the  past,  but  that,  if  he 
continued  to  mislead  me,  I  would  have  him  hanged 
without  mercy." 

Vignau  pondered  for  a  moment;  then  fell  on  his 
knees,  owned  his  treachery,  and  begged  forgiveness. 
Champlain  broke  into  a  rage,  and,  unable,  as  he  says, 
to  endure  the  sight  of  him,  ordered  him  from  his 
presence,  and  sent  the  interpreter  after  him  to  make 
further  examination.  Vanity,  the  love  of  notoriety, 
and  the  hope  of  reward,  seem  to  have  been  his  induce- 
ments; for  he  had  in  fact  spent  a  quiet  Avinter  in 
Tessouat's  cabin,  his  nearest  approach  to  the  northern 
sea ;  and  he  had  flattered  himself  that  he  might  escape 
the  necessity  of  guiding  his  commander  to  this  pre- 
tended discoveiy.  The  Indians  were  somewhat 
exultant. 

"Why  did  you  not  listen  to  chiefs  and  warriors, 
instead  of  believing  the  lies  of  this  fellow?"  And 
they  counselled  Champlain  to  have  him  killed  at 
once,  adding,  "  Give  him  to  us,  and  we  promise  you 
that  he  shall  never  lie  again." 

VOL.    II.  —  14 


210  THE  IMPOSTOR  VIGNAU.  [1G13. 

No  motive  remaining  for  farther  advance,  the  party- 
set  out  on  their  return,  attended  by  a  fleet  of  forty 
canoes  bound  to  Montreal  ^  for  trade.  They  passed 
tlie  perilous  rapids  of  the  Calumet,  and  were  one 
niglit  encamped  on  an  island,  when  an  Indian,  slum- 
bering in  an  uneasy  posture,  was  visited  with  a 
nightmare.  He  leaped  up  with  a  yell,  screamed  that 
somebody  was  killing  him,  and  ran  for  refuge  into  the 
river.  Instantly  all  his  companions  sprang  to  their 
feet,  and,  hearing  in  fancy  the  Iroquois  war-whoop, 
took  to  the  water,  splashing,  diving,  and  wading  up 
to  their  necks,  in  the  blindness  of  their  fright. 
Champlain  and  liis  Frenchmen,  roused  at  the  noise, 
snatched  their  weapons  and  looked  in  vain  for  an 
enemy.  The  panic-stricken  warriors,  reassured  at 
length,  waded  crestfallen  ashore,  and  the  whole  ended 
in  a  laugh. 

At  the  Chaudiere,  a  contribution  of  tobacco  was 
collected  on  a  wooden  platter,  and,  after  a  solemn 
harangue,  was  thrown  to  the  guardian  Manitou.  On 
the  seventeenth  of  June  they  approached  Montreal, 
where  the  assembled  traders  greeted  them  with  dis- 
charges of  small  amis  and  cannon.  Here,  among  the 
rest,  was  Champlain's  lieutenant,  Du  Pare,  with  his 
men,  who  had  amused  their  leisure  with  huntinsr,  and 
were  revelhng  in  a  sjdvan  abundance,  while  their 
baffled  chief,  with  woiTy  of  mind,  fatigue  of  body, 
and  a  Lenten  diet  of  half-cooked  fish,  was  grievously 

1  The  name  is  used  here  for  distinctness.  The  locality  is  indicated 
by  Chanipluiu  as  Le  Saiit,  from  the  Saut  St.  Louis,  immediately  above. 


1613.]  EMBARKS   FOR  FRANCE.  211 

fallen  away  in  flesh  and  strength.  He  kept  his  word 
with  De  Vignau,  left  the  scoundrel  unpunished,  bade 
farewell  to  the  Indians,  and,  promising  to  rejoin  them 
the  next  year,  embarked  in  one  of  the  trading-ships 
for  France. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
1615. 

DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  HURON. 

Religioits  Zeal  of  Champlain. —  RtcoLLET  Friars.  —  St.  Fran- 
cis. —  Exploration  and  War.  —  Le  Caron  on  the  Ottawa.  — 
Champlain  reaches  Lake  Huron. — The  Huron  Towns. — 
Mass  in  the  Wilderness. 

In  New  France,  spiritual  and  temporal  interests 
were  inseparably  blended,  and,  as  will  hereafter 
appear,  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  was  used  as  a 
means  of  commercial  and  political  growth.  But, 
^\dth  the  single-hearted  founder  of  the  colony,  con- 
siderations of  material  advantage,  though  clearly 
recognized,  were  no  less  clearly  subordinate.  He 
would  fain  rescue  from  perdition  a  people  living,  as 
he  says,  "like  brute  beasts,  without  faith,  without 
law,  without  religion,  without  God."  While  the 
want  of  funds  and  the  indifference  of  his  merchant 
associates,  who  as  yet  did  not  fully  see  that  their 
trade  would  find  in  the  missions  its  surest  ally,  were 
threatening  to  wreck  his  benevolent  schemes,  he 
found  a  kindred  spirit  in  his  friend  Houel,  secretary 
to  the  King,  and  comptroller-general  of  the  salt- 
works of  Brouage.     Near  this  town  was  a  convent  of 


1615.]  RlfiCOLLET   FRIARS.  213 

R^collet  friars,  some  of  whom  were  well  known  to 
Houel.  To  them  he  addressed  himself;  and  several 
of  the  brotherhood,  "inflamed,"  we  are  told,  "with 
charity,"  were  eager  to  undertake  the  mission.  But 
the  R^collets,  mendicants  by  profession,  were  as  weak 
in  resources  as  Champlain  himself.  He  repaired  to 
Paris,  then  filled  with  bishops,  cardinals,  and  nobles, 
assembled  for  the  States-General.  Responding  to  his 
appeal,  they  subscribed  fifteen  hundred  livres  for  the 
purchase  of  vestments,  candles,  and  ornaments  for 
altai-s.  The  King  gave  letters  patent  in  favor  of  tlie 
mission,  and  the  Pope  gave  it  his  formal  authoriza- 
tion. By  this  instrument  the  papacy  in  the  person  of 
Paul  the  Fifth  virtually  repudiated  the  action  of  the 
papacy  in  the  person  of  Alexander  the  Sixth,  who 
had  proclaimed  all  America  the  exclusive  property  of 
Spain.  1 

The  R^collets  form  a  branch  of  the  great  Franciscan 
Order,  founded  early  in  the  thirteenth  century  by 
Saint  Francis  of  Assisi.  Saint,  hero,  or  madman, 
according  to  the  point  of  view  from  which  he  is 
regarded,  he  belonged  to  an  era  of  the  Church  when 
the  tumult  of  invading  heresies  awakened  in  her 
defence  a  band  of  impassioned  champions,  widely 
different  from  the  placid  saints  of  an  earlier  age.  He 
was  very  young  when  dreams  and  voices  began  to 
reveal  to  him  his  vocation,  and  kindle  his  high- 
wrought    nature    to    sevenfold    heat.     Self-respect, 

*  The  papal  brief  and  the  royal  letter  are  in  Sagard,  Histoire  de  la 
Nouvelle  France,  and  Le  Clerc,  ^tablissement  de  la  Foy. 


214  DISCOVERY  OF   LAKE  HUROX.  [1615. 

natural  affection,  decency,  became  in  his  eyes  but 
stumbling-blocks  and  snares.  He  robbed  his  father 
to  build  a  church;  and,  like  so  many  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  saints,  confounded  filth  ^^dth  humility, 
exchanged  clothes  with  beggars,  and  walked  the 
streets  of  Assisi  in  rags  amid  the  hootings  of  his 
townsmen.  He  vowed  perpetual  poverty  and  per- 
petual beggary,  and,  in  token  of  his  renunciation  of 
the  world,  stripped  himself  naked  before  the  Bishop 
of  Assisi,  and  then  begged  of  him  in  charity  a 
peasant's  mantle.  Crowds  gathered  to  his  fervid  and 
dramatic  eloquence.  His  handful  of  disciples  multi- 
plied, till  Europe  became  thickly  dotted  with  their 
convents.  At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
three  Orders  of  Saint  Francis  numbered  a  hundred 
and  fifteen  thousand  friars  and  twenty-eight  thousand 
nuns.  Four  popes,  forty-five  cardinals,  and  forty-six 
canonized  martyrs  were  enrolled  on  their  record, 
besides  about  two  thousand  more  who  had  shed  their 
blood  for  the  faith. ^  Their  missions  embraced  nearly 
all  the  knowTi  world;  and,  in  1621,  there  were  in  Span- 
ish America  alone  five  hundred  Franciscan  convents.  ^ 
In  process  of  time  the  Franciscans  had  relaxed 
their  ancient  rigor ;  but  much  of  their  pristine  spirit 
still  subsisted  in  the  R^collets,  a  reformed  branch  of 
the  Order,  sometimes  known  as  Franciscans  of  the 
Strict  Observance. 

^  Helyot,  Histoire  des  Ordres  Religieux  et  MUitaires,  devotes  his 
seventh  volume  (ed.  1792)  to  the  Franciscans  and  Jesuits.  He  draws 
largely  from  the  great  work  of  Wadding  on  the  Franciscans. 

^  Le  Clerc,  £tablissement  de  la  Foy,  I.  33-52. 


1615.]  RfiCOLLET   FRIARS.  215 

Four  of  their  number  were  named  for  the  mission 
of  New  France,  —  Denis  Jamay,  Jean  Dolbeau, 
Joseph  le  Caron,  and  the  lay  brother  Pacifique  du 
Plessis.  "They  packed  their  church  ornaments," 
says  Champlain,  "and  we,  our  luggage."  All  ahke 
confessed  their  sins,  and,  embarking  at  Honfieur, 
reached  Quetec  at  the  end  of  May,  1615.  Great 
was  the  perplexity  of  the  Indians  as  the  apostolic 
mendicants  landed  beneath  the  rock.  Their  garb 
was  a  foiTii  of  that  common  to  the  brotherhood 
of  Saint  Francis,  consisting  of  a  rude  garment  of 
coarse  gray  cloth,  girt  at  the  waist  with  the  knotted 
cord  of  the  Order,  and  furnished  with  a  peaked 
hood,  to  be  drawn  over  the  head.  Their  naked  feet 
were  shod  with  wooden  sandals,  more  than  an  inch 
thick.  1 

Their  first  care  was  to  choose  a  site  for  their  con- 
vent, near  the  fortified  dwellings  and  storehouses 
built  by  Champlain.  This  done,  they  made  an  altar, 
and  celebrated  the  first  mass  ever  said  in  Canada. 
Dolbeau  was  the  officiating  priest;  all  New  France 
kneeled  on  the  bare  earth  around  him,  and  cannon 
from  the  ship  and  the  ramparts  hailed  the  mystic 
rite.^  Then,  in  imitation  of  the  Apostles,  they  took 
counsel  together,  and  assigned  to  each  his  province 
in  the  vast  field  of  their  mission,  —  to  Le  Caron  the 
Hurons,    and    to   Dolbeau    the    Montagnais;    while 

^  An  engraving  of  their  habit  will  be  found  in  Heh'ot  (1792). 
^  Lettre  du  P.  Jean  Dolbeau  au  P.  iJidare  David,  son  ami ;  dc  Quebec 
le  20  Juillet,  1615.     See  Le  Clerc,  £tablissement  de  la  Foy,  I.  62. 


216  DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE   HURON.  [1615. 

Jamay  and  Du  Plessis  were  to  remain  for  the  present 
near  Quebec. 

Dolbeaii,  full  of  zeal,  set  out  for  his  post,  and  in 
tlie  next  winter  tried  to  follow  the  roving  hordes  of 
Tadoussac  to  their  frozen  hunting-grounds.  He  was 
not  robust,  and  his  eyes  were  weak.  Lodged  in  a 
hut  of  birch  bark,  full  of  abominations,  dogs,  fleas, 
stench,  and  all  uncleanness,  he  succumbed  at  length 
to  the  smoke,  which  had  wellnigh  blinded  him,  forc- 
ing him  to  remain  for  several  days  with  his  eyes 
closed.^  After  debating  -within  himself  whether  God 
required  of  him  the  sacrifice  of  his  sight,  he  solved 
his  doubts  with  a  negative,  and  returned  to  Quebec, 
only  to  depart  again  with  opening  spring  on  a  tour  so 
extensive  that  it  brought  him  in  contact  with  outly- 
ing bands  of  the  Esquimaux.^  Meanwhile  Le  Caron 
had  long  been  absent  on  a  more  noteworthy  mission. 

While  his  brethren  were  building  their  convent  and 
garnishing  their  altar  at  Quebec,  the  ardent  friar  had 
hastened  to  the  site  of  Montreal,  then  thronged  with 
a  savage  concourse  come  down  for  the  yearly  trade. 
He  mingled  with  them,  studied  their  manners,  tried 
to  learn  their  languages,  and,  when  Champlain  and 
Pontgrav^  arrived,  declared  liis  purpose  of  winter- 
ing in  their  villages.  Dissuasion  availed  nothing. 
"What,"  he  demanded,  "are  privations  to  him  whose 
life  is  devoted  to  perpetual  poverty,  and  who  has  no 
ambition  but  to  serve  God  ?  " 

1  Sagard,  Hist,  de  la  NouveUe  France,  26. 

2  Le  Clerc,  £tablissement  de  la  Foy,  I.  71. 


1615.]  POLICY  OF  CHAMPLAIN.  217 

The  assembled  Indians  Avere  more  eager  for  tem- 
poral than  for  spiritual  succor,  and  beset  Champlain 
with  clamors  for  aid  against  the  Iroquois.  He  and 
Pontgrav^  were  of  one  mind.  The  aid  demanded 
must  be  given,  and  that  from  no  motive  of  the  hour, 
but  in  pursuance  of  a  deliberate  policy.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  the  innumerable  tribes  of  New  France, 
otherwise  divided,  were  united  in  a  common  fear  and 
hate  of  these  formidable  bands,  who,  in  the  strength 
of  their  fivefold  league,  spread  havoc  and  desolation 
through  all  the  surrounding  wilds.  It  was  the  aim 
of  Champlain,  as  of  his  successors,  to  persuade  the 
threatened  and  endangered  hordes  to  live  at  peace 
with  each  other,  and  to  form  against  the  common  foe 
a  virtual  league,  of  which  the  French  colony  would 
be  the  heart  and  the  head,  and  which  would  con- 
tinually widen  with  the  widening  area  of  discovery. 
With  French  soldiers  to  fight  their  battles,  French 
priests  to  baptize  them,  and  French  traders  to  supply 
their  increasing  wants,  their  dependence  would  be 
complete.  They  would  become  assured  tributaries  to 
the  growth  of  New  France.  It  was  a  trijile  alliance 
of  soldier,  priest,  and  trader.  The  soldier  might  be 
a  roving  knight,  and  the  priest  a  martyr  and  a  saint ; 
but  both  alike  were  subserving  the  interests  of  that 
commerce  which  fonued  the  only  solid  basis  of  the 
colony.  The  scheme  of  English  colonization  made 
no  account  of  the  Indian  tribes.  In  the  scheme  of 
French  colonization  they  were  all  in  all. 

In  one  point  the  plan  was  fatally  defective,  since  it 


218  DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE  HURON.  [1615. 

involved  the  deadly  enmity  of  a  race  whose  character 
and  whose  power  were  as  yet  but  ill  understood,  —  the 
fiercest,  boldest,  most  politic,  and  most  ambitious 
savages  to  whom  the  American  forest  has  ever  given 
birth. 

The  chiefs  and  warriors  met  in  council,  —  Algon- 
quins  of  the  Ottawa,  and  Hurons  from  the  borders  of 
the  great  Fresh-Water  Sea.  Champlain  promised  to 
join  them  with  all  the  men  at  his  command,  while 
they,  on  their  part,  were  to  muster  without  delay 
twenty-five  hundred  warriors  for  an  inroad  into  the 
country  of  the  Iroquois.  He  descended  at  once  to 
Quebec  for  needful  preparation;  but  when,  after  a 
short  delay,  he  returned  to  Montreal,  he  found,  to 
his  chagrin,  a  solitude.  The  vdld  concourse  had 
vanished ;  nothing  remained  but  the  skeleton  poles  of 
their  huts,  the  smoke  of  their  fires,  and  the  refuse  of 
their  encampments.  Impatient  at  his  delay,  they  had 
set  out  for  their  villages,  and  with  them  had  gone 
Father  Joseph  le  Caron. 

Twelve  Frenchmen,  well  armed,  had  attended  him. 
Summer  was  at  its  height,  and  as  his  canoe  stole 
along  the  bosom  of  the  glassy  river,  and  he  gazed 
about  him  on  the  tawny  multitude  whose  fragile  craft 
covered  the  water  like  swamis  of  gliding  insects,  he 
thought,  perhaps,  of  his  whitewashed  cell  in  the 
convent  of  Brouage,  of  his  book,  his  table,  his  rosary, 
and  all  the  narrow  routine  of  that  familiar  life  from 
which  he  had  awakened  to  contrasts  so  startlinsf. 
That  his  progress  up  the  Ottawa  was  far  from  being 


1615.]  LE   CARON'S  JOURNEY.  219 

an  excursion  of  pleasure  is  attested  by  his  letters, 
fragments  of  which  have  come  do\vn  to  us. 

"It  would  be  hard  to  tell  you,"  he  writes  to  a 
friend,  "how  tired  I  was  with  paddling  all  day,  with 
all  my  strength,  among  tlie  Indians;  wading  the 
rivers  a  hundred  times  and  more,  through  the  mud 
and  over  the  sharp  rocks  that  cut  my  feet;  carrj'ing 
the  canoe  and  luggage  through  the  woods  to  avoid 
the  rapids  and  frightful  cataracts;  and  half  starved 
all  the  while,  for  we  had  nothing  to  eat  but  a  little 
sagamite^  a  sort  of  porridge  of  water  and  pounded 
maize,  of  which  they  gave  us  a  very  small  allowance 
every  morning  and  night.  But  I  must  needs  tell  you 
what  abundant  consolation  I  found  under  all  my 
troubles;  for  when  one  sees  so  many  infidels  needing 
nothing  but  a  drop  of  water  to  make  them  children 
of  God,  one  feels  an  inexpressible  ardor  to  labor  for 
their  conversion,  and  sacrifice  to  it  one's  repose  and 
life."i 

Another  R^coUet,  Gabriel  Sagard,  followed  the 
same  route  in  similar  company  a  few  years  later,  and 
has  left  an  account  of  his  experience,  of  which  Le 
Caron's  was  the  counterpart.     Sagard  reckons  from 

1  "...  Car  helas  qiiand  on  voit  un  si  grand  nombre  d'Infidels,  et 
qu'il  ne  tient  qu'a  une  gontte  d'eau  pour  les  rendre  enfans  de  Dieu,  on 
ressent  jo  ne  s(,!ay  quelle  ardeur  de  travailler  k  lour  conversion  et  d'y 
sacrifier  son  rcpos  et  sa  vie."  Le  Caron,  in  Le  Clerc,  I.  74.  Le  Clerc, 
usually  exact,  affixes  a  wrong  date  to  Le  Caron's  departure,  which 
took  place,  not  in  the  autumn,  but  about  the  first  of  July,  Clianijdain 
following  on  the  ninth.  Of  Ciiamplain  tlic  editions  consulted  have 
been  those  of  1620  and  1627,  the  narrative  being  abridged  in  th^  edi- 
tion of  1632-     Compare  Sagard,  Ilistoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France, 


220  DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE   HURON.  [1615. 

eighty  to  a  hundred  waterfalls  and  rapids  in  the 
course  of  the  journey,  and  the  task  of  avoiding  them 
hy  j)ushing  through  the  woods  was  the  harder  for 
liini  because  he  saw  fit  to  go  barefoot,  "  in  imitation 
of  our  seraphic  father.  Saint  Francis."  "We  often 
fame  upon  rocks,  mudholes,  and  fallen  trees,  which 
we  had  to  scramble  over,  and  sometimes  we  must 
force  our  way  with  head  and  hands  through  dense 
woods  and  thickets,  without  road  or  path.  When 
the  time  came,  my  Indians  looked  for  a  good  place  to 
pass  the  night.  Some  went  for  dry  wood ;  others  for 
poles  to  make  a  shed;  others  kindled  a  fire,  and  hung 
the  kettle  to  a  stick  stuck  aslant  in  the  ground;  and 
othei-s  looked  for  two  flat  stones  to  bruise  the  Indian 
corn,  of  which  they  make  sagamite." 

This  sagamite  was  an  extremely  thin  porridge; 
and,  though  scraps  of  fish  were  now  and  then  boiled 
in  it,  the  friar  pined  away  daily  on  this  weak  and 
scanty  fare,  which  was,  moreover,  made  repulsive  to 
him  by  the  exceeding  filthiness  of  the  cookery. 
Nevertheless,  he  was  forced  to  disguise  his  feelings. 
"  One  must  always  keep  a  smiling,  modest,  contented 
face,  and  now  and  then  sing  a  hymn,  both  for  his 
own  consolation  and  to  please  and  edify  the  savages, 
who  tiike  a  singular  pleasure  in  hearing  us  sing  the 
praises  of  our  God.  Among  all  his  trials,  none 
afflicted  him  so  much  as  the  flies  and  mosquitoes. 
"  If  I  had  not  kept  my  face  wrapped  in  a  cloth,  I  am 
almost  sure  they  would  have  blinded  me,  so  pestiferous 
and   poisonous  are  the  bites  of  these  little  demons. 


1615.]        CHAMPLAIN  AT  LAKE  NIPISSING.  221 

They  make  one  look  like  a  leper,  hideous  to  the  sight. 
I  confess  that  this  is  the  woi-st  martyrdom  I  suffered 
in  this  country;  hunger,  thiret,  weariness,  and  fever 
are  nothing  to  it.  These  little  beasts  not  only  pei"se- 
cute  you  all  day,  hut  at  night  they  get  into  your  eyes 
and  mouth,  crawl  under  your  clothes,  or  stick  their 
long  stings  through  them,  and  make  such  a  noise 
that  it  distracts  your  attention,  and  prevents  you 
from  saying  your  prayers."  He  reckons  three  or  four 
kinds  of  them,  and  adds,  that  in  the  Montagnais 
country  there  is  still  another  kind,  so  small  that  they 
can  hardly  be  seen,  but  which  "bite  like  devils' 
imps."  The  sportsman  who  has  bivouacked  in  the 
woods  of  Maine  will  at  once  recognize  the  minute 
tormentoi-s  there  known  as  "no-see- 'ems.'* 

While  through  tribulations  like  these  Le  Caron 
made  his  way  towards  the  scene  of  his  apostleship, 
Cliamplain  was  following  on  his  track.  With  two 
canoes,  ten  Indians,  fitienne  Brul^  his  interpreter, 
and  another  Frenchman,  he  pushed  up  the  Ottawa 
till  he  reached  the  Algonquin  villages  which  had 
formed  the  term  of  his  former  journeying.  He  passed 
the  two  lakes  of  the  AUumettes;  and  now,  for  twenty 
miles,  the  river  stretched  before  him,  straight  as  the 
l)ee  can  fly,  deep,  narrow,  and  black,  between  its 
mountain  shores.  He  passed  the  rapids  of  the 
Joachims  and  the  Caribou,  the  Rocher  Capitaine,  and 
the  Deux  Rivieres,  and  reached  at  length  the  tribu- 
tary waters  of  the  Mattawan.  He  turned  to  the  left, 
ascended  this  little  stream  forty  miles  or  more,  and. 


222  DISCOVERY  OF   LAKE  HURON.  [1615 

crossing  a  portage  track,  well  trodden,  reached  the 
margin  of  Lake  Nipissing.  The  canoes  were  launched 
again,  and  glided  hy  leafy  shores  and  verdant  islands 
till  at  length  appeared  signs  of  human  life  and  clusters 
of  bark  lodges,  half  hidden  in  the  vastness  of  the 
woods.  It  was  the  village  of  an  Algonquin  band, 
called  the  Nipissings,  —  a  race  so  beset  with  spirits, 
infested  by  demons,  and  abounding  in  magicians, 
that  the  Jesuits  afterwards  stigmatized  them  as  "  the 
Sorcerers."  In  this  questionable  company  Champlain 
spent  two  days,  feasted  on  fish,  deer,  and  bears. 
Then,  descending  to  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  he  steered 
his  canoes  westward  down  the  current  of  French 
River. 

Days  passed,  and  no  sign  of  man  enlivened  the 
rocky  desolation.  Hunger  was  pressing  them  hard, 
for  the  ten  gluttonous  Indians  had  devoured  already 
nearly  all  their  provision  for  the  voyage,  and  they 
were  forced  to  subsist  on  the  blueberries  and  w^ild 
raspberries  that  grew  abundantly  in  the  meagre  soil, 
when  suddenly  they  encountered  a  troop  of  three 
hundred  savages,  whom,  from  their  strange  and  start- 
ling mode  of  wearing  their  hair,  Champlain  named 
the  Chcveux  Bdcves.  "Not  one  of  our  courtiers,"  he 
saj-s,  "takes  so  much  pains  in  dressing  his  locks.'* 
Here,  however,  their  care  of  the  toilet  ended;  for, 
though  tattooed  on  various  parts  of  the  body,  painted, 
and  anned  with  bows,  arrows,  and  shields  of  bison- 
hide,  they  wore  no  clothing  whatever.  Savage  as 
was  their  aspect,  they  were  busied  in  the  pacific  task 


1615.]  FIRST   SIGHT  OF  THE  LAKE.  223 

of  gathering  blueberries  for  their  winter  store.  Tlieir 
demeanor  was  friendly;  and  from  them  the  voyager 
learned  that  the  great  lake  of  the  Hurons  was  close 
at  hand.^ 

Now,  far  along  the  western  sky  was  traced  the 
watery  line  of  that  inland  ocean,  and,  first  of  white 
men  except  the  Friar  Le  Caron,  Champlain  beheld 
the  "Mer  Douce,"  the  Fresh- Water  Sea  of  the 
Hurons.  Before  him,  too  far  for  sight,  lay  the  spirit- 
haunted  Manitoualins,  and,  southward,  spread  the 
vast  bosom  of  the  Georgian  Bay.  For  more  than  a 
hundred  miles,  his  course  was  along  its  eastern  shores, 
among  islets  countless  as  the  sea-sands,  —  an  archi- 
pelago of  rocks  worn  for  ages  by  tlie  wash  of  waves. 
He  crossed  Byng  Inlet,  Franklin  Inlet,  Parry  Sound, 
and  the  mder  bay  of  IVIatchedash,  and  seems  to  have 
landed  at  the  inlet  now  called  Thunder  Bay,  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Bay  of  Matchedash,  and  a  little  west 
of  the  Harbor  of  Penetanguishine. 

An  Indian  trail  led  inland,  through  woods  and 
thickets,    across    broad   meadows,    over   brooks,    and 

'  These  savages  belonged  to  a  numerous  Algonciuin  tribe  who  occu- 
jiicd  a  district  west  and  southwest  of  the  Nottawassaga  Bay  of  Lake 
Huron,  within  the  modern  counties  of  Bruce  aud  Grey,  Canada  West. 
Sagard  speaiis  of  meeting  a  ])arty  of  them  near  the  place  where  they 
were  met  by  Cliamplain.  Sagard,  Grand  Voyui/e  dti  Pays  des  Ilurons, 
11.  The  Hurons  called  them  Oitdataouaouat  or  Ondatu/iouat,  whence 
tlic  name  Outaauat  (Ottawa),  wiiioh  is  now  commonly  used  to  designate 
a  particular  tril)e,  or  group  of  tribes,  l)ut  which  the  French  often  em- 
ployed as  a  generic  term  for  all  the  Algomiuin  tribes  of  the  Upper 
Lakes.  It  is  written  in  various  forms  by  French  and  English  writers, 
as  Outoicais,  Outaouaks,  7\iwaas,  Oailaiuraus,  Outauies,  Outaouacs,  6'ifa- 
was,  OUawwawwuy,  Oiiltoacls,  Oiitlatraals,  Attuwaicas. 


224  DISCOVERY  OF  LAKE   HURON.  [1615. 

along  the  skirts  of  green  acclivities.  To  the  eye  of 
Champlain,  accustomed  to  the  desolation  he  had  left 
behind,  it  seemed  a  land  of  beauty  and  abundance. 
He  reached  at  last  a  broad  opening  in  the  forest, 
with  fields  of  maize,  pumpkins  ripening  in  the  sun, 
patches  of  sunflowers,  from  the  seeds  of  which  the 
Indians  made  hair-oil,  and,  in  the  midst,  the  Huron 
town  of  Otouacha.  In  all  essential  points,  it  resembled 
that  which  Cartier,  eighty  years  before,  had  seen  at 
Montreal,  —  the  same  triple  palisade  of  crossed  and 
intersecting  trunks,  and  the  same  long  lodges  of  bark, 
each  containing  several  families.  Here,  within  an 
area  of  thirty  or  forty  miles,  was  the  seat  of  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  savage  communities  on  the  con- 
tinent. By  the  Indian  standard,  it  was  a  mighty 
nation,"  yet  the  entire  Huron  population  did  not 
exceed  that  of  a  third  or  fourth  class  American 
city.i 

To  the  south  and  southeast  lay  other  tribes  of 
kindred  race  and  tongue,  all  stationary,  all  tillers  of 
the  soil,  and  all  in  a  state  of  social  advancement 
when  compared  with  the  roving  bands  of  Eastern 
Canada:  the  Neutral  Nation 2  west   of  the  Niagara, 

1  Champlain  estimates  the  number  of  Huron  villages  at  seventeen 
or  eighteen.  Le  Jeune,  Sagard,  and  Lalemant  afterwards  reckoned 
them  at  from  twenty  to  thirty-two.  Le  Clerc,  following  Le  Caron, 
makes  the  population  about  ten  thousand  souls ;  but  several  later  ob- 
servers, as  well  a.-;  Champlain  himself,  set  it  at  above  thirty  thousand. 

2  A  warlike  people,  called  Neutral  from  their  neutrality  between 
the  Hurons  and  the  Iroquois,  wliich  did  not  save  them  from  sharing 
the  destruction  which  overwhelmed  the  former. 


1615.]  THE   FIRST  MASS.  225 

and  the  Eries  and  Andastes  in  Western  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania;  while  from  the  Genesee  eastward 
to  the  Hudson  lay  the  banded  tribes  of  the  Iroquois, 
leading  members  of  this  potent  family,  deadly  foes  of 
their  Idndi'ed,  and  at  last  their  destroyers. 

In  Champlain  the  Hurons  saw  the  champion  who 
was  to  lead  them  to  victory.  There  was  bountiful 
feasting  in  his  honor  in  the  great  lodge  at  Otouacha ; 
and  other  welcome,  too,  was  tendered,  of  which  the 
Hurons  were  ever  liberal,  but  which,  with  all 
courtesy,  was  declined  by  the  virtuous  Champlain. 
Next,  he  went  to  Carmaron,  a  league  distant,  and 
then  to  Touaguainchain  and  Tequenonquihaye ;  till 
at  length  he  reached  Carhagouha,  with  its  triple 
palisade  thirty-five  feet  high.  Here  he  found  Le 
Caron.  The  Indians,  eager  to  do  him  honor,  were 
building  for  him  a  bark  lodge  in  the  neighboring 
forest,  fashioned  like  their  OAvn,  but  much  smaller. 
In  it  the  friar  made  an  altar,  garnished  with  those 
indispensable  decorations  which  he  had  brought  ^vith 
him  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  painful  jour- 
nepng;  and  hither,  night  and  day,  came  a  curious 
multitude  to  listen  to  his  annunciation  of  the  new 
doctrine.  It  was  a  joyful  hour  when  he  saw  Champlain 
approach  his  hermitage ;  and  the  two  men  embraced 
like  brothers  long  sundered. 

The  twelfth  of  August  was  a  day  evennore  marked 
with  white  in  the  friar's  calendar.  Arrayed  in 
priestly  vestments,  he  stood  before  his  simple  alt;xr; 
behind  him  liis  little  band  of  Christians,  — the  twelve 

VOL.    II. 15 


220  DISCOVERY  OF   LAKE  HURON.  [1615. 

Frenchmen  who  had  attended  him,  and  the  two  who 
had  followed  Champlain.  Here  stood  their  devout 
and  valiant  chief,  and,  at  his  side,  that  pioneer  of 
pioneers,  ifctienne  Brul(i,  the  interpreter.  The  Host 
was  raised  aloft;  the  worshippers  kneeled.  Then 
their  rough  voices  joined  in  the  hymn  of  praise,  Te 
Deum  Imcdamus  ;  and  then  a  volley  of  their  guns  pro- 
claimed the  triumph  of  the  faith  to  the  okies^  the 
manitous,  and  all  the  brood  of  anomalous  devils  who 
had  reigned  with  undisputed  sway  in  these  w^ld 
realms  of  darkness.  The  brave  friar,  a  true  soldier 
of  the  Church,  had  led  her  forlorn  hope  into  the  fast- 
nesses of  hell;  and  now,  with  contented  heart,  he 
might  depart  in  peace,  for  he  had  said  the  first  mass 
in  the  countiy  of  the  Hurons. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

1615,  1616. 

THE   GREAT  WAR   PARTY. 

Muster  of  Warriors.  —  Departcre.  —  The  River  Trent.  — 
Lake  Ontario.  —  The  Iroquois  Town.  —  Attack.  —  Repulse. 
—  Champlain  wounded.  —  Retreat.  —  Adventures  of  Eti- 
ENNE  Brule.  —  Winter  Hunt.  —  Ciiamplain  lost  in  the  For- 
est.—  Made  Umpire  of  Indian  Quarrels. 

The  lot  of  the  favored  guest  of  an  Indian  camp  or 
village  is  idleness  witliout  repose,  for  he  is  never  left 
alone,  with  the  repletion  of  incessant  and  inevitable 
feasts.  Tired  of  this  inane  routine,  Cluunplain,  with 
some  of  his  Frenchmen,  set  forth  on  a  tour  of  obser- 
vation. Journeying  at  their  ease  by  the  Indian  trails, 
they  visited,  in  tlnee  days,  five  palisaded  villages. 
The  country  delighted  them,  with  it«  meadows,  its 
deep  woods,  its  pine  and  cedar  thickets,  full  of  hares 
and  partridges,  its  wild  grapes  and  plums,  cherries, 
crab-apples,  nuts,  and  raspberries.  It  was  the  seven- 
teenth of  August  when  they  reached  the  Huron 
metropolis,  Cahiagu^,  in  the  modern  township  of 
Orillia,  three  leagues  west  of  the  river  Severn,  by 
which  Lake  Simcoe  pours  its  waters  into  the  bay  of 
Matchedash.  A  shrill  clamor  of  rejoicing,  the  fixed 
stare  of  wondering  squaws,  and  the  screaming  flight 


228  THE  GREAT   WAR  PARTY.  [1615. 

of  U'liified  children  hailed  the  arrival  of  Champlain. 
I>y  his  estimate,  the  place  contained  two  hundred 
lodges;  ])ut  they  must  have  been  relatively  small, 
since,  had  they  been  of  the  enormous  capacity  some- 
times found  in  these  structures,  Cahiagu^  alone  would 
have  held  the  whole  Huron  population.  Here  was 
the  chief  rendezvous,  and  the  town  swarmed  with 
gathering  warrioi-s.  There  was  cheering  news;  for 
an  allied  nation,  called  Carantouans,  probably  iden- 
tical with  the  Andastes,  had  promised  to  join  the 
Hurons  in  the  enemy's  country,  with  five  hundred 
men.i  Feasts  and  the  war-dance  consumed  the  days, 
till  at  length  the  tardy  bands  had  all  arrived;  and, 
shouldering  their  canoes  and  scanty  baggage,  the 
naked  host  set  forth. 

At  the  outlet  of  Lake  Simcoe  they  all  stopped  to 
fish,  —  their  simple  substitute  for  a  commissariat. 
Hence,  too,  the  intrepid  Etienne  Brul^,  at  his  own 
request,  was  sent  with  twelve  Indians  to  hasten  for- 
ward the  five  hundred  allied  warriors,  —  a  dangerous 
venture,  since  his  course  must  lie  tlirough  the  borders 
of  the  Iroquois. 

He  set  out  on  the  eighth  of  September,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  tenth,  Champlain,  shivering  in  his 
blanket,  awoke  to  see  the  meadows  sparkling  with  an 
early  frost,  soon  to  vanish  under  the  bright  autumnal 
smi.     The  Huron  fleet  pursued  its  coui-se  along  Lake 

1  Champlain  (1627),  31.  While  the  French  were  aiding  the  Hurons 
against  the  Iroquois,  tlie  Dutch  on  the  Hudson  aided  the  Iroquois  against 
this  nation  of  allies,  who  captured  three  Dutchmen,  but  are  said  to  have 
aet  them  free  iu  the  belief  that  they  were  French.     Ibid. 


1615.]  A  DEER  HUNT.  229 

Simcoe,  across  the  portage  to  Balsam  or  Sturgeon 
Lake,  and  down  the  chain  of  lakes  which  form  the 
sources  of  the  river  Trent.  As  the  long  line  of 
canoes  moved  on  its  way,  no  human  life  was  seen,  no 
sign  of  friend  or  foe;  yet  at  times,  to  the  fancy  of 
Champlain,  the  borders  of  the  stream  seemed  decked 
with  groves  and  shrubbery  by  the  hands  of  man,  and 
the  walnut  trees,  laced  with  grape-vines,  seemed 
decorations  of  a  pleasure-ground. 

They  stopped  and  encamped  for  a  deer-hunt.  Five 
hundred  Indians,  in  line,  like  the  skirmishers  of  an 
army  advancing  to  battle,  drove  the  game  to  the  end 
of  a  woody  point;  and  the  canoe-men  killed  them 
with  spears  and  arrows  as  they  took  to  the  river. 
Champlain  and  his  men  keenly  relished  the  sport,  but 
j)aid  a  heavy  price  for  their  pleasure.  A  Frenchman, 
firing  at  a  buck,  brought  down  an  Indian,  and  there 
was  need  of  liberal  gifts  to  console  the  sufferer  and 
his  friends. 

The  canoes  now  issued  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Trent.  Like  a  flock  of  venturous  wild-fowl,  they  put 
l)oldly  out  upon  Lake  Ontario,  crossed  it  in  safety, 
and  landed  within  the  borders  of  New  York,  on  or 
near  the  point  of  land  west  of  Hungry  Bay.  After 
hiding  their  light  craft  in  the  woods,  the  warriors 
took  up  their  swift  and  wary  march,  filing  in  silence 
between  the  woods  and  the  lake,  for  four  leagues 
along  the  strand.  Then  they  struck  inland,  threaded 
the  forest,  crossed  the  outlet  of  Lake  Oneida,  and 
after  a  march  of  four  days,    were  deep  within  the 


230  THE   GREAT   WAR   PARTY.  [1615. 

limits  of  the  Iroquois.  On  the  ninth  of  October 
some  of  their  scouts  met  a  fishing-party  of  this 
people,  and  captured  them,  —  eleven  in  number,  men, 
women,  and  children.  They  were  brought  to  the 
camp  of  the  exultant  Hurons.  As  a  beginning  of  the 
jubilation,  a  chief  cut  off  a  finger  of  one  of  the  women, 
but  desisted  from  further  torturing  on  the  angiy  pro- 
test of  Champlain,  reserving  that  pleasure  for  a  more 
convenient  season. 

On  the  next  day  they  reached  an  open  space  in  the 
forest.  The  hostile  town  was  close  at  hand,  sur- 
rounded by  rugged  fields  with  a  slovenly  and  savage 
cultivation.  The  young  Hurons  in  advance  saw  the 
Iroquois  at  work  among  the  pumpkins  and  maize, 
gathering  their  rustling  harvest.  Nothing  could 
restrain  the  hare-brained  and  ungoverned  crew. 
They  screamed  their  war-cry  and  rushed  in ;  but  the 
Iroquois  snatched  their  weapons,  killed  and  wounded 
five  or  six  of  the  assailants,  and  drove  back  the  rest 
discomfited.  Champlain  and  his  Frenchmen  were 
forced  to  interpose;  and  the  report  of  their  pieces 
from  the  border  of  the  woods  stopped  the  pursuing 
enemy,  who  withdrew  to  their  defences,  bearing  with 
them  their  dead  and  wounded.^ 

It  appears  to  have  been  a  fortified  town  of  the 
Onondagas,  the  central  tribe  of  the  Iroquois  confeder- 
acy, standing,  there  is  some  reason  to  believe,  within 

'  Le  Clerc  (I.  79-87)  gives  a  few  particulars  not  mentioned  by 
Champlain,  whose  account  will  be  found  in  the  editions  of  1620,  1627, 
and  1632. 


1615.]  IROQUOIS  FORTIFICATION.  231 

the  limits  of  Maclison  County,  a  few  miles  south  of 
Lake  Oneida.^  Champlain  describes  its  defensive 
^vo^ks  as  much  stronger  than  those  of  the  Huron 
villages.  They  consisted  of  four  concentric  rows  of 
palisades,  formed  of  trunks  of  trees,  thirty  feet  high, 
set  aslant  in  the  earth,  and  intersecting  each  other 
near  the  top,  where  they  supported  a  kind  of  gallery, 
well  defended  by  shot-proof  timber,  and  furnished 
with  wooden  guttere  for  quenching  fire.  A  pond  or 
lake,  which  washed  one  side  of  the  palisade,  and  was 
led  by  sluices  within  the  town,  gave  an  ample  supply 
of  water,  while  the  galleries  were  well  provided  with 
magazines  of  stones. 

Champlain  was  greatly  exasperated  at  the  desultory 
and  futile  procedure  of  his  Huron  allies.  Against 
his  advice,  they  now  withdrew  to  the  distance  of  a 
cannon-shot  from  the  fort,  and  encamped  in  the  forest, 
out  of  sight  of  the  enemy.  "I  was  moved,"  he  says, 
"  to  speak  to  them  roughly  and  harshly  enough,  in 

^  Champlain  calls  the  tribe  Antoicoronons,  Antotthonorons,  or  Entou- 
honornns.  I  at  first  supposetl  them  to  be  the  Senecas,  but  further  in- 
quiry leads  me  to  believe  that  they  were  the  Onouda^as.  Mr.  O.  H. 
JVIarsiiall  tliinks  that  the  town  was  on  Lake  Onondaga,  and  supports 
his  opinion  in  an  excellent  article  in  the  Magazine  of  American  History. 
General  Jolni  S.  Clark  lias,  however,  shown  that  the  site  of  an  ancient 
Indian  fort  on  Nichols  Pond,  in  the  town  of  Fenner,  Madison  County, 
fulfils  the  conditions  .'sufficiently  to  give  some  countenance  to  the  sup- 
position of  its  identity  with  that  described  by  Champlain.  A  plan  of 
the  locality  wa.s  kindly  sent  me  by  Mr.  L.  W.  Ledyard,  and  another  by 
Kev.  W.  M.  Beauchamp,  whose  careful  examination  of  the  spot  con- 
firms but  partially  the  conclusions  of  General  Clark.  Champlain's 
drawing  of  the  fort  was  clearly  made  from  memory,  and  contains  ob>i- 
ous  inaccuracies. 


232  THE  GREAT  WAR  PARTY.  [1615. 

ordoi-  to  incite  them  to  do  their  duty;  for  I  foresaw 
that  if  things  went  according  to  their  fancy,  nothing 
but  harm  could  come  of  it,  to  their  loss  and  ruin." 
He  proceeded,  therefore,  to  instruct  them  in  the  art 
of  war. 

In  the  morning,  aided  doubtless  by  his  ten  or 
twelve  Frenchmen,  they  set  themselves  with  alacrity 
to  their  prescribed  task.  A  wooden  tower  was  made, 
liigh  enough  to  overlook  the  palisade,  and  large 
enough  to  shelter  four  or  five  marksmen.  Huge 
wooden  shields,  or  movable  parapets,  like  the  mante- 
lets of  the  Middle  Ages,  were  also  constructed. 
Four  hours  sufficed  to  finish  the  work,  and  then  the 
assault  began.  Two  hundred  of  the  strongest  warriors 
dragged  the  tower  forward,  and  planted  it  within  a 
pike's  length  of  the  palisade.  Three  arquebusiers 
mounted  to  the  top,  where,  themselves  well  sheltered, 
they  opened  a  raking  fire  along  the  galleries,  now 
thronged  with  wild  and  naked  defenders.  But  noth- 
ing could  restrain  the  ungovernable  Hurons.  They 
abandoned  their  mantelets,  and,  deaf  to  every  com- 
mand, swarmed  out  like  bees  upon  the  open  field, 
leaped,  shouted,  shrieked  their  war-cries,  and  shot 
off  their  arrows ;  while  the  Iroquois,  yelling  defiance 
from  their  ramparts,  sent  back  a  shower  of  stones 
and  arroAvs  in  reply.  A  Huron,  bolder  than  the 
rest,  ran  forward  vnth  fii-ebrands  to  burn  the  palisade, 
and  othei-s  followed  with  wood  to  feed  the  flame. 
But  it  was  stupidly  kindled  on  the  leeward  side, 
^\•ithout  the  protecting  shields  designed  to  cover  it; 


1615.]  CHAMPLAIN   WOUNDED.  233 

and  torrents  of  water,  poured  down  from  the  gutters 
above,  quickly  extinguished  it.  The  confusion  was 
redoubled.  Champlain  strove  in  vain  to  restore 
order.  Each  warrior  was  yelling  at  the  top  of  his 
throat,  and  his  voice  was  drowned  in  the  outrageous 
din.  Thinking,  as  he  says,  that  his  head  would  split 
with  shouting,  he  gave  over  the  attempt,  and  Inisied 
himself  and  his  men  with  picking  off  the  Iroquois 
along  their  ramparts. 

The  attack  lasted  three  hours,  when  the  assailants 
fell  back  to  their  fortified  camp,  with  seventeen  war- 
riors wounded.  Champlain,  too,  had  received  an 
arrow  in  the  knee,  and  another  in  the  leg,  which,  for 
the  time,  disabled  him.  He  was  urgent,  however,  to 
renew  the  attack;  while  the  Hurons,  crestfallen  and 
disheartened,  refused  to  move  from  their  camp  unless 
the  five  hundred  allies,  for  some  time  expected, 
should  appear.  They  waited  five  days  in  vain, 
beguiling  the  interval  with  frequent  skinnishes,  in 
which  they  were  always  worsted;  then  began  hastily 
to  retreat,  carrying  their  wounded  in  the  centre, 
while  the  Iroquois,  sallying  from  their  stronghold, 
showered  arrows  on  their  flanks  and  rear.  The 
wounded,  Champlain  among  the  rest,  after  being 
packed  in  baskets  made  on  the  spot,  were  carried 
each  on  the  back  of  a  strong  warrior,  "bundled  in 
a  heap,"  says  Champlain,  "doubled  and  strapped 
together  after  such  a  fashion  that  one  could  move  no 
more  than  an  infant  in  swaddling-clothes.  The  pain 
is  extreme,  as  I  can  truly  say  from  experience,  hav- 


•234  THE  GREAT  WAR  PARTY.  [1615. 

ing  been  carried  several  days  in  this  way,  since  I 
could  not  stand,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  arrow- 
wound  I  had  got  in  the  knee.  I  never  was  in  such 
torment  in  my  life,  for  the  pain  of  the  wound  was 
nothing  to  that  of  being  bound  and  pinioned  on  the 
back  of  one  of  our  savages.  I  lost  patience,  and  as 
soon  as  I  could  bear  my  weight  I  got  out  of  this 
prison,  or  rather  out  of  hell."^ 

At  length  the  dismal  march  was  ended.  They 
reached  the  spot  where  their  canoes  were  hidden, 
found  them  untouched,  embarked,  and  recrossed  to 
the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario.  The  Hurons 
had  promised  Champlain  an  escort  to  Quebec ;  but  as 
the  chiefs  had  little  power,  in  peace  or  war,  beyond 
that  of  persuasion,  each  warrior  found  good  reasons 
for  refusing  to  lend  his  canoe.  Champlain,  too,  had 
lost  prestige.  The  "  man  with  the  iron  breast "  had 
proved  not  inseparably  wedded  to  victory ;  and  though 
the  fault  was  their  own,  yet  not  the  less  was  the 
lustre  of  their  hero  tarnished.  There  was  no  alterna- 
tive. He  must  winter  with  the  Hurons.  The  great 
war  party  broke  into  fragments,  each  band  betaking 
itself  to  its  hunting-ground.  A  chief  named  Durantal, 
or  Darontal,2  offered  Champlain  the  shelter  of  his 
lodge,  and  he  was  glad  to  accept  it. 

Meanwhile,  Etienne  Brul^  had  found  cause  to  rue 

^  Champlain  (1627),  46.  In  the  edition  of  1632  there  are  some 
omissions  and  verhal  changes  in  this  part  of  the  narrative. 

-  Champlain,  with  his  usual  carelessness,  calls  him  by  either  name 
mdiffcreutly. 


1616.]  JSTIEXXE   BRUL16.  235 

the  hour  when  he  undertook  his  hazardous  mission  to 
the  Carantouan  allies.  Three  years  passed  before 
Charaplain  saw  him.  It  was  in  the  summer  of  1618, 
that,  reaching  the  Saut  St.  Louis,  he  there  found  tlie 
interpreter,  his  hands  and  his  swarthy  face  marked 
with  traces  of  the  ordeal  he  had  passed.  Brul(3  then 
told  him  his  story. 

He  had  gone,  as  already  mentioned,  with  twelve 
Indians,  to  hasten  the  march  of  the  allies,  who  were 
to  join  the  Hurons  before  the  hostile  town.  Crossing 
Lake  Ontario,  the  party  pushed  onward  with  all 
speed,  avoiding  trails,  threading  the  thickest  forests 
and  darkest  swamps,  for  it  was  the  land  of  the  fierce 
and  watchful  Iroquois.  They  were  well  advanced 
on  their  way  when  they  saw  a  small  party  of  them 
crossing  a  meadow,  set  upon  them,  surprised  them, 
killed  four,  and  took  two  prisoners,  whom  they  led 
to  Carantouan,  —  a  palisaded  town  with  a  population 
of  eight  hundred  warriors,  or  about  four  thousand 
souls.  The  dwellings  and  defences  were  like  those 
of  the  Hurons,  and  the  town  seems  to  have  stood  on 
or  near  the  upper  waters  of  the  Susquehanna.  They 
were  welcomed  with  feasts,  dances,  and  an  uproar  of 
rejoicing.  The  five  hundred  warriors  prepared  to 
depart;  but,  engrossed  by  the  general  festivity,  they 
prepared  so  slowly,  that,  though  the  hostile  town  was 
but  three  days  distant,  they  found  on  reaching  it  that 
the  besiegers  were  gone.  Bruld  now  returned  with 
them  to  Carantouan,  and,  with  enterprise  worthy  of 
his  commander,  spent  the  winter  in  a  tour  of  explora- 


236  THE  GREAT  WAR  PARTY.  [1616. 

tion.  Descending  a  river,  evidently  the  Susquehanna, 
he  followed  it  to  its  junction  with  the  sea,  through 
territories  of  populous  tribes,  at  war  the  one  with 
the  other.  When,  in  the  spring,  he  returned  to 
Carantouan,  five  or  six  of  the  Indians  offered  to 
guide  him  towards  his  countrymen.  Less  fortunate 
than  before,  he  encountered  on  the  way  a  band  of 
Iroquois,  who,  rushing  upon  the  party,  scattered  them 
tlirousrh  the  woods.  Brul^  ran  like  the  rest.  The 
cries  of  pursuers  and  pursued  died  away  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  forest  was  silent  around  him.  He  was 
lost  in  the  shady  labyrinth.  For  three  or  four  days 
he  wandered,  helpless  and  famished,  till  at  length  he 
found  an  Indian  foot-path,  and,  choosing  between 
starvation  and  the  Iroquois,  desperately  followed  it 
to  throw  himself  on  their  mercy.  He  soon  saw  three 
Indians  in  the  distance,  laden  with  fish  newly  caught, 
and  called  to  them  in  the  Huron  tongue,  which  was 
radically  similar  to  that  of  the  Iroquois.  They  stood 
amazed,  then  turned  to  fly;  but  Brul^,  gaunt  with 
famine,  flung  down  his  weapons  in  token  of  friend- 
ship. They  now  drew  near,  listened  to  the  story  of 
his  distress,  lighted  their  pipes,  and  smoked  with 
him ;  then  guided  him  to  their  village,  and  gave  him 
food. 

A  crowd  gathered  about  him.  "Whence  do  you 
come  ?  Are  you  not  one  of  the  Frenchmen,  the  men 
of  iron,  who  make  war  on  us?" 

Bruld  answered  that  he  was  of  a  nation  better  than 
the  French,  and  fast  friends  of  the  Iroquois. 


1616.]  ^TIENNE   BRULJfi.  237 

His  incredulous  captors  tied  him  to  a  tree,  tore  out 
his  beard  by  handfuls,  and  burned  him  with  fire- 
brands, while  their  chief  vainly  interposed  in  his 
behalf.  He  was  a  good  Catholic,  and  wore  an  Agnus 
Dei  at  his  breast.  One  of  his  torturers  asked  what  it 
was,  and  thrust  out  his  hand  to  take  it. 

"If  you  touch  it,"  exclaimed  Brul^,  "you  and  all 
your  race  will  die." 

The  Indian  persisted.  The  day  was  hot,  and  one 
of  those  thunder-gusts  which  often  succeed  the  fierce 
heats  of  an  American  midsummer  was  rising  against 
the  sky.  Bruld  pointed  to  the  inky  clouds  as  tokens 
of  the  anger  of  his  God.  The  storm  broke,  and,  as 
the  celestial  artillery  boomed  over  their  darkening 
forests,  the  Iroquois  were  stricken  with  a  superstitious 
terror.  They  all  fled  from  the  spot,  leaving  their 
victim  still  bound  fast,  until  the  chief  who  had 
endeavored  to  protect  him  returned,  cut  the  cords, 
led  him  to  his  lodge,  and  dressed  his  wounds. 
Thenceforth  there  was  neither  dance  nor  feast  to 
which  Brul^  was  not  invited ;  and  when  he  wished  to 
return  to  his  countrymen,  a  party  of  Iroquois  guided 
him  four  days  on  his  way.  He  reached  the  friendly 
Hurons  in  safety,  and  joined  them  on  their  yearly 
descent  to  meet  the  French  traders  at  Montreal.  ^ 

1  The  story  of  Etienne  Bruld,  whoso  name  may  possibly  allude  to 
the  fiery  ordeal  throuf;;h  which  he  had  passed,  is  in  Chani])laiu's  narra- 
tive of  his  voyage  of  1618.  It  will  be  found  in  the  edition  of  1627,  but 
is  omitted  in  the  condensed  edition  of  1632.     It  is  also  told  by  Sagard. 

Hrule'  met  a  lamentable  fate.  In  1632  he  was  treacherously  nmr- 
dered   by   Uurous    at  one    of  their  villages  near  reuetanguishiDe. 


238  THE   GREAT  WAR  PARTY.  [1615. 

Bruit's  adventures  find  in  some  points  their  coun- 
terpart in  those  of  his  commander  on  the  winter 
himting-grounds  of  his  Huron  allies.  As  we  turn 
the  ancient,  worm-eaten  page  which  preserves  the 
simple  record  of  his  fortunes,  a  wild  and  dreary  scene 
rises  before  the  mind,  —  a  chill  November  air,  a 
murky  sky,  a  cold  lake,  bare  and  shivering  forests, 
tlie  earth  strewn  with  crisp  brown  leaves,  and,  by 
the  water-side,  the  bark  sheds  and  smoking  camp-fires 
of  a  band  of  Indian  hunters.  Champlain  was  of  the 
party.  There  was  ample  occupation  for  his  gun,  for 
the  morning  was  vocal  with  the  clamor  of  wild-fowl, 
and  his  evening  meal  was  enlivened  by  the  rueful 
music  of  the  wolves.  It  was  a  lake  north  or  north- 
west of  the  site  of  Kingston.  On  the  borders  of  a 
neighboring  river,  twenty-five  of  the  Indians  had 
Ijeen  busied  ten  days  in  preparing  for  their  annual 
deer-hunt.  They  planted  posts  interlaced  with  boughs 
in  two  straight  converging  lines,  each  extending  more 
than  half  a  mile  through  forests  and  swamps.  At 
the  angle  where  they  met  was  made  a  strong  enclosure 
like  a  pound.  At  dawn  of  day  the  hunters  spread 
themselves  through  the  woods,  and  advanced  with 
shouts,  clattering  of  sticks,  and  bowlings  like  tliose 

Several  years  after,  when  the  Huron  country  was  ravaged  and  half 
depopulated  by  an  epidemic,  the  Indians  believed  that  it  was  caused 
by  the  French  in  revenge  for  his  death,  and  a  renowned  sorcerer  averred 
that  he  had  seen  a  sister  of  the  murdered  man  flying  over  their  coun- 
try, breathing  forth  pestilence  and  death.  Le  Jeune,  Relation,  1633, 
34;  Bre'beuf,  iJc/ation  des  Hurons,  1635,  28;  1637,  160,  167  (Quebec, 
1858). 


1615.]       CIIAMPLAIN  LOST   IN  THE  WOODS.        239 

of  wolves,  driving  the  deer  before  them  into  the 
enclosure,  where  others  lay  in  wait  to  despatch  them 
with  arrows  and  spears. 

Champlain  was  in  the  woods  with  the  rest,  when 
he  saw  a  bird  whose  novel  appearance  excited  his 
attention;  and,  gun  in  hand,  he  went  in  pursuit. 
The  bird,  flitting  from  tree  to  tree,  lured  him  deeper 
and  deeper  into  the  forest;  then  took  wing  and 
vanished.  The  disappointed  sportsman  tried  to 
retrace  his  steps.  But  the  day  was  clouded,  and  he 
had  left  his  pocket-compass  at  the  camp.  The  forest 
closed  around  him,  trees  mingled  with  trees  in  end- 
less confusion.  Bewildered  and  lost,  he  wandered 
all  day,  and  at  night  slept  fasting  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree.  Awaking,  he  wandered  on  till  afternoon,  when 
he  reached  a  pond  slumbering  in  the  shadow  of  the 
woods.  There  were  water-fowl  along  its  brink,  some 
of  which  he  shot,  and  for  the  fii-st  time  found  food  to 
allay  his  hunger.  He  kindled  a  fire,  cooked  his 
game,  and,  exhausted,  blanketless,  drenched  by  a 
cold  rain,  made  his  prayer  to  Heaven,  and  again  lay 
down  to  sleep.  Another  day  of  blind  and  weary 
wandering  succeeded,  and  another  night  of  exhaus- 
tion. He  had  found  paths  in  the  wilderness,  but 
they  were  not  made  by  human  feet.  Once  more 
roused  from  his  shivering  repose,  he  journe3'ed  on 
till  he  heard  the  tinkling  of  a  little  brook,  and 
bethought  him  of  following  its  guidance,  in  the  hope 
that  it  might  lead  him  to  the  river  where  the  hunters 
were  now  encamped.     With  toilsome  steps  he  followed 


240  THE  GREAT  WAR  PARTY.  [1615. 

the  infant  stream,  now  lost  beneath  the  decaying 
musses  of  fallen  trunks  or  the  impervious  intricacies 
of  matted  "windfalls,"  now  stealing  through  swampy 
thickets  or  gurgling  in  the  shade  of  rocks,  till  it 
entered  at  length,  not  into  the  river,  but  into  a  small 
lake.  Circling  around  the  brink,  he  found  the  point 
where  the  brook  ran  out  and  resumed  its  course. 
Listening  in  the  dead  stillness  of  the  woods,  a  dull, 
hoarse  sound  rose  upon  his  ear.  He  went  forward, 
listened  again,  and  could  plainly  hear  the  plunge  of 
waters.  There  was  light  in  the  forest  before  him, 
and,  thrusting  himself  through  the  entanglement  of 
bushes,  he  stood  on  the  edge  of  a  meadow.  Wild 
animals  were  here  of  various  kinds;  some  skulking 
in  the  bordering  thickets,  some  browsing  on  the  dry 
and  matted  grass.  On  his  right  rolled  the  river, 
wide  and  turbulent,  and  along  its  bank  he  saw  the 
portage  path  by  which  the  Indians  passed  the  neigh- 
boring rapids.  He  gazed  about  him.  The  rocky 
hills  seemed  familiar  to  his  eye.  A  clew  was  found 
at  last;  and,  kindling  his  evening  fire,  with  grateful 
heart  he  broke  a  long  fast  on  the  game  he  had  killed. 
With  the  break  of  day  he  descended  at  his  ease  along 
the  bank,  and  soon  descried  the  smoke  of  the  Indian 
fires  curling  in  the  heavy  morning  air  against  the  gray 
bordei-s  of  the  forest.  The  joy  was  great  on  both 
sides.  The  Indians  had  searched  for  him  without 
ceasing;  and  from  that  day  forth  his  host,  Durantal, 
would  never  let  him  go  into  the  forest  alone. 

They  were   thirty-eight   days   encamped   on    this 


1616.]  WINTER  JOURNEYING.  241 

nameless  river,  and  killed  in  that  time  a  hundred 
and  twenty  deer.  Hard  frosts  were  needful  to  give 
them  passage  over  the  land  of  lakes  and  mai-shes  that 
lay  between  them  and  the  Huron  towns.  Therefore 
they  lay  v/aiting  till  the  fourth  of  December;  when 
the  frost  came,  bridged  the  lakes  and  streams,  and 
made  the  oozy  mareh  as  firm  as  granite.  Snow  fol- 
lowed, powdering  the  broad  wastes  with  dreary  wliite. 
Then  they  broke  up  their  camp,  packed  their  game 
on  sledges  or  on  their  shoulders,  tied  on  their  snow- 
shoes,  and  began  their  march.  Champlain  could 
scarcely  endure  his  load,  though  some  of  the  Indians 
carried  a  weight  fivefold  greater.  At  night,  they 
heard  the  cleaving  ice  uttering  its  strange  groans  of 
torment,  and  on  the  morrow  there  came  a  thaw.  For 
four  days  they  waded  through  slush  and  water  up  to 
tlieir  knees ;  then  came  the  shivering  northwest  wind, 
and  all  Avas  hard  again.  In  nineteen  days  they 
reached  the  town  of  Cahiagud,  and,  lounging  around 
their  smoky  lodge-fires,  the  hunters  forgot  the  hard- 
ships of  the  past. 

For  Champlain  there  was  no  rest.  A  double 
motive  urged  him,  —  discovery,  and  the  strengthen- 
ing of  his  colony  by  widening  its  circle  of  trade. 
First,  he  repaired  to  Carhagouha;  and  here  he  found 
the  friar,  in  his  hermitage,  still  praying,  preaching, 
inaking  catechisms,  and  struggling  with  the  manifold 
(lilFu'ulties  of  the  Huron  tongue.  After  spending 
sevenil  weeks  together,  they  began  their  journeyings, 

and    in  three  days  reached  the  chief  village  of  the 
VOL.  n.  —  Ifi 


242  THE  GREAT  WAR  PARTY.  [1616. 

Nation  of  Tobacco,  a  powerful  tribe  akin  to  the 
Tliirons,  and  soon  to  be  incorporated  with  them.^ 
The  travellers  visited  seven  of  their  towns,  and  then 
passed  westward  to  those  of  the  people  whom 
Chaniplain  calls  the  Gheveux  Eeleves,  and  whom  he 
commends  for  neatness  and  ingenuity  no  less  than  he 
condemns  them  for  the  nullity  of  their  summer 
attire.  2  As  the  strangers  passed  from  town  to  town, 
their  arrival  was  everywhere  the  signal  of  festivity. 
Chaniplain  exchanged  pledges  of  amity  with  his 
hosts,  and  urged  them  to  come  down  with  the  Hurons 
to  the  yearly  trade  at  Montreal. 

Spring  was  now  advancing,  and,  anxious  for  his 
colony,  he  turned  homeward,  following  that  long 
circuit  of  Lake  Huron  and  the  Ottawa  which  Iroquois 
hostility  made  the  only  practicable  route.  Scarcely 
had  he  reached  the  Nipissings,  and  gained  from  them 
a  pledge  to  guide  him  to  that  delusive  northern  sea 
whicli  never  ceased  to  possess  his  thoughts,  when 
evil  news  called  him  back  in  haste  to  the  Huron 
towns.  A  band  of  those  Algonquins  who  dwelt  on 
the  great  island  in  the  Ottawa  had  spent  the  winter 
encamped  near  Cahiagu^,  whose  inhabitants  made 
them  a  present  of  an  Iroquois  prisoner,  with  the 
friendly  intention  that  they  should  enjoy  the  pleasure 
of  torturing  him.  The  Algonquins,  on  the  contrary, 
fed,  clothed,  and  adopted  him.     On  this,  the  donors, 

1  The  Dionondadies,  Petuneux,  or  Nation  of  Tobacco,  had  till  re- 
cently, according  to  Lalemant,  been  at  war  ^vith  the  Hurons. 

2  See  ante,  p.  222. 


1616.]  CHAMPLAIN  MADE  UMPIRE.  243 

in  a  rage,  sent  a  warrior  to  kill  the  Iroquois.  He 
stabbed  him,  accordingly,  in  the  midst  of  the 
Algonquin  chiefs,  who  in  requital  killed  the  mur- 
derer. Here  was  a  casus  belli  involving  most  serious 
issues  for  the  French,  since  the  Algonquins,  by  their 
position  on  the  Ottawa,  could  cut  off  the  Hurons  and 
all  their  allies  from  coming  down  to  trade.  Already 
a  fight  had  taken  place  at  Cahiagu^ ;  the  principal 
Algonquin  chief  had  been  wounded,  and  his  band 
forced  to  purchase  safety  by  a  heavy  tribute  of  wam- 
pum ^  and  a  gift  of  two  female  prisoners. 

All  eyes  turned  to  Champlain  as  umpire  of  the 
quarrel.  The  great  council-house  was  filled  with 
Huron  and  Algonquin  chiefs,  smoking  with  that 
immobility  of  feature  beneath  which  their  race  often 
hide  a  more  than  tiger-like  ferocity.  The  umpire 
addressed  the  assembly,  enlarged  on  the  folly  of  fall- 
ing to  blows  between  themselves  when  the  common 
enemy  stood  ready  to  devour  them  both,  extolled  the 
advantages  of  the  French  trade  and  alliance,  and, 
with  zeal  not  wholly  disinterested,  urged  them  to 
shake  hands  like  brothei-s.  The  friendly  counsel  was 
accepted,  the  pipe  of  peace  was  smoked,  the  storm 
dispelled,  and  the  commerce  of  New  France  rescued 
from  a  serious  peril. ^ 

1  Wampum  was  a  sort  of  beads,  of  several  colors,  made  originally  by 
the  Indians  from  tlie  inner  portion  of  certain  shells,  and  afterwards  by 
the  French  of  porcelain  and  glass.  It  served  a  treble  purpose,  —  that 
of  currency,  decoration,  and  record.  Wrought  into  belts  of  various 
devices,  each  having  its  significance,  it  preserved  the  substance  of  trea- 
ties and  compacts  from  generation  to  generation. 

2  Champlain  (1G27),  63-72. 


244  THE   GREAT   WAR   PARTY.  [1616. 

Once  more  Champlain  turned  homeward,  and  with 
luni  W(Mit  his  Huron  host,  DurantaL  Le  Caron  had 
preceded  him;  and,  on  the  eleventh  of  July,  the 
fellow-travellers  met  again  in  the  infant  capital  of 
Canada.  The  Indians  had  reported  that  Champlain 
was  dead,  and  he  was  welcomed  as  one  risen  from 
the  grave.  The  friare,  who  were  all  here,  chanted 
lauds  in  their  chapel,  with  a  solemn  mass  and  thanks- 
giving. To  the  two  travellers,  fresh  from  the  hard- 
ships of  the  wilderness,  the  hospitable  board  of 
Quebec,  the  kindly  societ)'  of  countr3aiien  and  friends, 
the  adjacent  gardens,  —  always  to  Champlain  an 
object  of  especial  interest,  —  seemed  like  the  comforts 
and  repose  of  home. 

The  chief  Durantal  found  entertainment  worthy  of 
his  high  estate.  The  fort,  the  ship,  the  armor,  the 
plumes,  the  cannon,  the  marvellous  architecture  of 
the  houses  and  barracks,  the  splendors  of  the  chapel, 
and  above  all  tlie  good  cheer  outran  the  boldest 
excursion  of  his  fancy ;  and  he  paddled  back  at  last 
to  his  lodge  in  the  woods,  bewildered  with  astonish- 
ment and  admiration. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

1616-1627. 

HOSTILE  SECTS.  — RIVAL  INTERESTS. 

Quebec. —  TADonssAC. —  Embarrassments  of  Champlain. —  Mont- 
MOREXcv. —  Madame  de  Champlain.  —  Disorder  and  Danger. 
—  The  Due  de  Ventauour.  —  The  Jesuits.  —  Catholics  and 
Heretics.  —  Richelieu.  —  The  Hundred  Associates. 

At  Quel)ec  tlie  signs  of  growth  were  faint  and  few. 
By  the  water-side,  under  the  cliff,  the  so-called 
"habitation,"  built  in  haste  eight  yeare  before,  was 
already  tottering,  and  Champlain  was  forced  to 
rebuild  it.  On  the  verge  of  the  rock  above,  where 
now  are  seen  the  buttresses  of  the  demolished  castle 
of  St.  Louis,  he  began,  in  1620,  a  fort,  behind  which 
were  fields  and  a  few  buildings.  A  mile  or  more 
distant,  by  the  bank  of  the  St.  Charles,  where  the 
General  Hospital  now  stiinds,  the  Rdcollets,  in  the 
same  year,  built  for  themselves  a  small  stone  house, 
with  ditches  and  outworks  for  defence;  and  here 
they  began  a  farm,  the  stock  consisting  of  several 
hogs,  a  pair  of  asses,  a  pair  of  geese,  seven  pairs  of 
fowls,   and   four  pairs   of   ducks. ^     The   only  other 

1  Letire  du  P.  Denis  Jamel,  15  Aout,  1620,  in  Sagard,  Ilistoire  du 
Canada,  58. 


'2\C>      HOSTILE   SECTS.  — RIVAL  INTERESTS.     [1616. 

agriculturist  in  the  colony  was  Louis  Hdljert,  who 
had  come  to  Canada  in  1617  with  a  wife  and  three 
children,  and  who  made  a  house  for  himself  on  the 
rock,  at  a  little  distance  from  Champlain's  fort. 

Besides  Quebec,  there  were  the  three  trading- 
stations  of  Montreal,  Three  Rivers,  and  Tadoussac, 
occupied  during  a  part  of  the  year.  Of  these, 
Tadoussac  was  still  the  most  important.  Landing 
here  from  France  in  1617,  the  R^collet  Paul  Huet 
said  mass  for  the  first  time  in  a  chapel  built  of 
branches,  while  two  sailoi-s  standing  beside  him 
waved  green  boughs  to  drive  off  the  mosquitoes. 
Thither  afterward  came  Brother  Gervais  Mohier, 
newly  arrived  in  Canada;  and  meeting  a  crowd  of 
Indians  in  festal  attire,  he  was  frightened  at  first, 
suspecting  that  they  might  be  demons.  Being  invited 
by  them  to  a  feast,  and  told  that  he  must  not  decline, 
he  took  his  place  among  a  party  of  two  hundred, 
squatted  about  four  large  kettles  full  of  fish,  bear's 
meat,  pease,  and  plums,  mixed  with  figs,  raisins,  and 
biscuit  procured  at  great  cost  from  the  traders,  the 
whole  boiled  together  and  well  stirred  with  a  canoe- 
paddle.  As  the  guest  did  no  honor  to  the  portion 
set  before  him,  his  entertainers  tried  to  tempt  his 
appetite  with  a  large  lump  of  bear's  fat,  a  supreme 
luxury'  in  their  eyes.  This  only  increased  his  embar- 
rassment, and  he  took  a  hasty'  leave,  uttering  the 
ejaculation,  "  Ho,  ho,  ho ! "  which,  as  he  had  been 
correctly  informed,  was  the  proper  mode  of  acknowl- 
edgment to  the  master  of  the  feast. 


1616.]     EMBARRASSMENTS   OF  CHAMPLAIN.         247 

A  change  had  now  begun  in  the  life  of  Champlain. 
His  forest  rovings  were  over.  To  battle  with  savages 
and  the  elements  was  more  congenial  Avith  his  nature 
than  to  nurse  a  puny  colony  into  growth  and  strength ; 
yet  to  each  task  he  gave  himself  with  the  same  strong 
devotion. 

His  difficulties  were  great.  Quebec  was  half  trad- 
ing-factory, half  mission.  Its  permanent  inmates  did 
not  exceed  fifty  or  sixty  persons,  —  fur-traders,  friars, 
and  two  or  three  wretched  families,  who  had  no 
inducement,  and  little  wish,  to  labor.  The  fort  is 
facetiously  represented  as  having  two  old  women 
for  garrison,  and  a  brace  of  hens  for  sentinels.^  All 
was  discord  and  disorder.  Champlain  was  the 
nominal  commander;  but  the  actual  authority  was 
■svith  the  merchants,  who  held,  excepting  the  friars, 
nearly  everybody  in  their  pay.  Each  was  jealous  of 
the  other,  but  all  were  united  in  a  common  jealousy 
of  Champlain.  The  few  families  whom  they  brought 
over  were  forbidden  to  trade  with  the  Indians,  and 
compelled  to  sell  the  fruits  of  their  labor  to  the 
agents  of  the  company  at  a  low,  fixed  price,  receiving 
goods  in  return  at  an  inordinate  valuation.  Some  of 
the  merchants  were  of  Rouen,  some  of  St.  Malo; 
some  were  Catholics,  some  were  Huguenots.  Hence 
unceasing  bickerings.  All  exercise  of  the  Reformed 
religion,  on  land  or  water,  was  prohibited  witliin  the 
limits  of  New  France;  ])ut  the  Huguenots  set  the 
prohibition  at  naught,  roaring  their  heretical  psalmody 

^  Advis  au  Roy  sur  Ics  Affaires  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  7. 


248     HOSTILE  SECTS.  — RIVAL  INTERESTS.     [1616. 

with  such  vigor  from  their  ships  in  the  river  that  the 
unliallowed  strains  polluted  the  ears  of  the  Indians 
on  shore.  The  merchants  of  Rochelle,  who  had 
refused  to  join  the  company,  carried  on  a  bold  illicit 
traffic  along  the  borders  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  endan- 
gering the  colony  by  selling  fire-arms  to  the  Indians, 
eluding  pursuit,  or,  if  hard  pressed,  showing  fight; 
and  tliis  was  a  source  of  perpetual  irritation  to  the 
incensed  monopolists.^ 

The  colony  could  not  increase.  The  company  of 
merchants,  though  pledged  to  promote  its  growth, 
did  what  they  could  to  prevent  it.  They  were  fur- 
traders,  and  the  interests  of  the  fur-trade  are  always 
opposed  to  those  of  settlement  and  population.  They 
feared,  too,  and  with  reason,  that  their  monopoly 
might  be  suddenly  revoked,  like  that  of  De  Monts, 
and  they  thought  only  of  making  profit  from  it  while 
it  lasted.  They  had  no  permanent  stake  in  the 
countr}^;  nor  had  the  men  in  their  employ,  who 
formed  nearly  all  the  scanty  population  of  Canada. 
Few,  if  any,  of  these  had  brought  wives  to  the  colony, 
and  none  of  them  thought  of  cultivating  the  soil. 
They  formed  a  floating  population,  kept  from  starv- 
irig  by  yearly  supplies  from  France. 

Champlain,  in  his  singularly  trying  position,  dis- 
played a  mingled  zeal  and  fortitude.     He  went  every 

1  Champlain,  1627  and  1632,  passim;  Sagard,  Hist,  du  Canada, 
passim  ;  Le  Clerc,  ^tablissement  de  la  For/,  cc.  4-7  ;  Advis  au  Roy  sur 
Its  Affaires  de  la  Nouvelle  France;  Decret  de  Prise  de  Corps  d'Hebert; 
Plainte  de  la  Nouvelle  France  a  la  France  sa  Germaine,  passim. 


1620.]  MADAIklE   DE   CHAMPLAIN.  249 

year  to  France,  laboring  for  the  interests  of  the  colony. 
To  throw  open  the  trade  to  all  competitors  was  a 
measure  beyond  the  wisdom  of  the  times;  and  he 
hoped  only  to  bind  and  regulate  the  monopoly  so  as 
to  make  it  subserve  the  generous  purpose  to  which  he 
had  given  himself.  The  imprisonment  of  Condd  was 
a  source  of  fresh  embarrassment;  but  the  young  Due 
de  Montmorency  assumed  his  place,  purchasing  from 
him  the  profitable  lieutenancy  of  New  France  for 
eleven  thousand  crowns,  and  continuing  Champlain 
in  command.  Champlain  had  succeeded  in  binding 
the  company  of  merchants  with  new  and  more 
stringent  engagements;  and,  in  the  vain  belief  that 
these  might  not  be  wholly  broken,  he  began  to  con- 
ceive fresh  hopes  for  the  colony.  In  this  faith  he 
embarked  with  his  wife  for  Quebec  in  the  spring  of 
1620 ;  and,  as  the  boat  drew  near  the  landing,  the 
cannon  welcomed  her  to  the  rock  of  her  banishment. 
The  buildings  were  falling  to  ruin;  rain  entered  on 
all  sides;  the  courtyard,  says  Champlain,  was  as 
squalid  and  dilapidated  as  a  grange  pillaged  by 
soldiers.  Madame  de  Champlain  was  still  very 
young.  If  the  Ursuline  tradition  is  to  be  trusted, 
the  Indians,  amazed  at  her  beauty  and  touched  by 
her  gentleness,  would  have  worshipped  her  as  a 
divinity.  Her  husband  had  married  her  at  the  age 
of  twelve;^  when,  to  his  horror,  he  presently  dis- 
covered that  she  was  infected  with  the  heresies  of  her 

^  Contrat  de  Mariage   de   Samuel   de    Champlain,   27  Dec,    1610. 
Charavay,  Documents  Inedits  sur  Samuel  de  Champlain. 


250     HOSTILE  SECTS.— RIVAL  INTERESTS.     [1620. 

father,  a  disguised  Huguenot.  He  addressed  himself 
at  once  to  her  convei-sion,  and  his  pious  efforts  were 
sonlctliing  more  than  successful.  During  the  four 
years  which  she  passed  in  Canada,  her  zeal,  it  is  true, 
was  chiefly  exercised  in  admonishing  Indian  squaws 
and  catechising  their  children ;  but,  on  her  return  to 
France,  nothing  would  content  her  but  to  become  a 
nun.  Champluin  refused  j  but,  as  she  was  childless, 
he  at  length  consented  to  a  virtual  though  not  formal 
separation.  After  his  death  she  gained  her  wish, 
became  an  Ursuline  nun,  founded  a  convent  of  that 
order  at  Meaux,  and  died  with  a  reputation  almost 
saintly.^ 

At  Quebec,  matters  grew  from  bad  to  worse.  The 
few  emigrants,  with  no  inducement  to  labor,  fell  into 
a  lazy  apathy,  lounging  about  the  trading-houses, 
gaming,  drinking  when  drink  could  be  had,  or  roving 
into  the  woods  on  vagabond  hunting  excursions. 
The  Indians  could  not  be  trusted.  In  the  year  1617 
they  had  murdered  two  men  near  the  end  of  the 
Island  of  Orleans.  Frightened  at  what  they  had 
done,  and  incited  perhaps  by  other  causes,  the 
Montagnais  and  tlieir  kindred  bands  mustered  at 
Three  Rivers  to  tlie  number  of  eight  hundred, 
resolved  to  destroy  the  French.  The  secret  was 
betrayed;  and  the  childish  multitude,  naked  and 
famishing,  became  suppliants  to  their  intended  victims 
for  the  means  of  life.     The  French,  themselves  at 

1  Extraltsdes  Chroniques  de  I'Ordre  des  Ursulines,  Journal  de  Quebec, 
10  Mars,  1855. 


1620-1621.]  A  NEW  MONOrOLY.  251 

the  point  of  starvation,  could  give  little  or  nothing. 
An  enemy  far  more  fomiidable  awaited  them;  and 
now  were  seen  the  fruits  of  Champlain's  intermed- 
dling in  Indian  wars.  In  the  summer  of  1622,  the 
Iroquois  descended  upon  the  settlement.  A  strong 
party  of  their  warriore  hovered  about  Quebec,  but, 
still  fearful  of  the  arquebuse,  forbore  to  attack  it, 
and  assailed  the  R(^collet  convent  on  the  St.  Charles. 
The  prudent  friars  had  fortified  themselves.  While 
some  prayed  in  the  chapel,  the  rest,  with  their  Indian 
converts,  manned  the  walls.  The  Iroquois  respected 
their  palisades  and  derai-lunes,  and  withdrew,  after 
burning  two  Huron  piisoners. 

Yielding  at  length  to  reiterated  complaints,  the 
Viceroy  Montmorency  suppressed  the  company  of  St. 
Malo  and  Rouen,  and  conferred  the  trade  of  New 
France,  burdened  with  similar  conditions  destined  to 
1)0  similarly  broken,  on  two  Huguenots,  William  and 
Emery  de  Caen.^  The  change  was  a  signal  for  fresh 
disorders.  The  enraged  monopolists  refused  to  yield. 
The  rival  traders  filled  Quebec  with  their  quarrels; 
and  Champhiin,  seeing  his  authority  set  at  naught, 
was  forced  to  occupy  his  newly  built  fort  ^\'ith  a  band 
of  armed  followers.  The  evil  rose  to  such  a  pitch 
that  he  joined  with  the  R^collets  and  the  better 
disposed  among  the  colonists  in  sending  one  of  the 
friai-s  to  lay  their  grievances  before  the  King.  The 
dispute  was   compromised  by  a  temporary  union   of 

1  Lettre  de  Montmorency  a  Champlain,  2  Fevrier,  1621 ;  Paris  Docu- 
ments iu  archives  of  Massachusetts,  1.  493. 


252     HOSTILE   SECTS.— RIVAL  INTERESTS.    [1625. 

the  two  companies,  together  with  a  variety  of  arrets 
and  regulations,  suited,  it  was  thought,  to  restore 
tranquillity.^ 

A  new  change  was  at  hand.  Montmorency,  tired 
of  his  viceroyalty,  which  gave  him  ceaseless  annoy- 
ance, sold  it  to  his  nephew,  Henri  de  L^vis,  Due 
de  Ventadour.  It  was  no  worldly  motive  wliich 
prompted  this  young  nobleman  to  assume  the  burden 
of  fostering  the  infancy  of  New  France.  He  had 
retired  from  the  court,  and  entered  into  holy  orders. 
For  trade  and  colonization  he  cared  nothing;  the 
conversion  of  infidels  was  his  sole  care.  The  Jesuits 
had  the  keeping  of  his  conscience,  and  in  his  eyes 
they  were  the  most  fitting  instruments  for  his  pur- 
pose. The  RecoUets,  it  is  true,  had  labored  with  an 
unflagging  devotion.  The  six  friars  of  their  Order 
—  for  this  was  the  number  wliich  the  Calvinist  Caen 
had  bound  himself  to  support  —  had  established  five 
distinct  missions,  extending  from  Acadia  to  the 
borders  of  Lake  Huron;  but  the  field  was  too  vast 
for  their  powers.  Ostensibly  by  a  spontaneous  move- 
ment of  their  o^^•n,  but  in  reality,  it  is  probable, 
under  influences  brought  to  bear  on  them  from  with- 
out, the  RecoUets  applied  for  the  assistance  of  the 
Jesuits,  who,  strong  in  resources  as  in  energy,  would 
not  be  compelled  to  rest  on  the  reluctant  support  of 
Huguenots.      Three  of  their  brotherhood  —  Charles 

1  Le  Roij  a  Champlain,  20  il/ars,  1622  ;  Champlain  (1632,  Secondo 
Partie),  Livre  L ;  Le  Clerc,  Etablissement  de  la  Foy,  c.  6 ;  Sagard, 
Jlistoire  du  Canada,  Livre  I.  c.  7. 


1626.]  ARRITAL  OF  JESUITS.  253 

Lalemant,  Enemond  Masse,  and  Jean  de  Br^beuf  — 
accordingly  embarked;  and,  fom-teen  years  after 
Biard  and  Masse  had  landed  in  Acadia,  Canada 
beheld  for  the  first  time  those  whose  names  stand  so 
prominent  in  her  annals,  —  the  mysterious  followers 
of  Loyola.  Their  reception  was  most  inauspicious. 
Champlain  was  abseut.  Caen  would  not  lodge  them 
in  the  fort;  the  traders  would  not  admit  them  to 
their  houses.  Nothing  seemed  left  for  them  but  to 
return  as  they  came;  when  a  boat,  bearing  several 
R(5collets,  approached  the  ship  to  proffer  them  the 
hospitalities  of  the  convent  on  the  St.  Charles.* 
They  accepted  the  proffer,  and  became  guests  of  the 
charitable  friai-s,  who  nevertheless  entertained  a 
lurking  jealousy  of  these  formidable  co-workers. 

The  Jesuits  soon  unearthed  and  publicly  burnt  a 
libel  against  their  Order  belonging  to  some  of  the 
traders.  Their  strength  was  soon  increased.  The 
Fathers  Noirot  and  De  la  None  landed,  with  twenty 
laborers,  and  the  Jesuits  were  no  longer  houseless. ^ 
Br^beuf  set  forth  for  the  arduous  mission  of  the 
Hurons ;  but  on  arriving  at  Trois  Rivieres  he  learned 
that  one  of  liis  Franciscan  predecessors,  Nicolas  Viel, 
had  recently  been  drowned  by  Indians  of  that  tribe, 

^  Le  Clerc,  Elablissement  de  la  Foi/,  I.  310;  Lalemant  a  Champlain, 
28  Juillet,  1625,  in  Le  Clerc,  I.  313;  Lalemant,  Relation,  1625,  in 
Mercure  Frangais,  XIII. 

2  Lalemant,  in  a  letter  dated  1  August,  1626,  says  that  at  that  time 
there  were  only  forty-tliree  F'renclmien  at  Quebec.  The  Jesuits  em- 
ployed themselves  in  confessing  them,  jireaching  two  sermons  a  month, 
studying  the  Indian  languages,  and  cultivating  the  ground,  as  a  prep- 
aration for  more  arduous  work.     See  Carayon,  Premiere  Mission,  117. 


254      HOSTILE   SECTS.  — RIVAL   INTERESTS.     [1626. 

in  the  rapid  behind  Montreal,  known  to  this  day  as 
the  Saut  au  Rocollet.  Less  ambitious  for  martyrdom 
than  he  afterwards  approved  himself,  he  postponed 
his  voyage  to  a  more  auspicious  season.  In  the  fol- 
lowing spring  he  renewed  the  attempt,  in  company 
with  De  la  None  and  one  of  the  friars.  The  Indians, 
however,  refused  to  receive  him  into  their  canoes, 
alleging  that  his  tall  and  portly  frame  would  overset 
them ;  and  it  was  only  by  dint  of  many  presents  that 
their  pretended  scruples  could  be  conquered.  Br^beuf 
embarked  with  his  companions,  and,  after  months  of 
toil,  reached  the  barbarous  scene  of  his  laboi-s,  his 
sufferings,  and  his  death. 

]\Ieanwhile  the  Viceroy  had  been  deeply  scandalized 
by  the  contumacious  heresy  of  ]^mery  de  Caen,  who 
not  only  assembled  his  Huguenot  sailors  at  prayers, 
but  forced  Catholics  to  join  them.  He  was  ordered 
thenceforth  to  prohibit  liis  crews  from  all  praying  and 
psalm-singing  on  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  The  crews 
revolted,  and  a  compromise  was  made.  It  was  agreed 
that  for  the  present  they  might  pray,  but  not  sing.^ 
"A  bad  bargain,"  says  the  pious  Champlain,  "but 
we  made  the  best  of  it  we  could."  Caen,  eni"aged  at 
the  Viceroy's  reproofs,  lost  no  opportunity  to  vent 
his  spleen  against  the  Jesuits,  whom  he  cordially 
hated. 

Eighteen  years  had  passed  since  the  founding  of 

'  ".  .  .  en  fiu,  fut  accorde'qu'ils  nechanteroient  point  les  Pseaumes 
mais  qu'ils  s'assembleroieut  pour  faire  leur  prieres."  Champlain  ( 1 632, 
Secoude  Partie),  108. 


1620.]  A  RIVAL  COLONY.  255 

Quebec,  and  still  the  colony  could  scarcely  be  said 
to  exist  but  in  the  founder's  brain.  Those  who 
should  have  been  its  support  were  engrossed  by  trade 
or  propagandism.  Champlain  might  look  back  on 
fruitless  toils,  hopes  deferred,  a  life  spent  seemingly 
in  vain.  The  population  of  Quebec  had  risen  to  a 
hundred  and  five  persons,  men,  women,  and  children. 
Of  these,  one  or  two  families  only  had  learned  to 
support  themselves  from  the  products  of  the  soil. 
All  withered  under  the  monopoly  of  the  Caens.^ 
Champlain  had  long  desired  to  rebuild  the  fort,  which 
was  weak  and  ruinous ;  but  the  merchants  would  not 
grant  the  men  and  means  which,  by  their  charter, 
they  were  bound  to  furnish.  At  length,  however, 
his  urgency  in  part  prevailed,  and  the  work  began  to 
advance.  Meanwhile  the  Caens  and  their  associates 
had  greatly  prospered,  paying,  it  is  said,  an  annual 
dividend  of  forty  per  cent.  In  a  single  year  they 
brought  from  Canada  twenty-two  thousand  beaver- 
skins,  though  the  usual  number  did  not  exceed  twelve 
or  fifteen  thousand. ^ 

While  infant  Canada  was  thus  struggling  into  a 
half -stifled  being,  the  foundation  of  a  commonwealth 
destined  to  a  marvellous  vigor  of  development  had 
been  laid  on  the  Rock  of  Pl;ynnouth.  In  their  char- 
acter, as  in  their  destiny,  the  rivals  were  widely 
different ;  yet,  at  the  outset,  New  England  was  unfaith- 

^  Advis  au  Roy,  passim  ;  Plainte  de  la  Nouvelle  France. 

2  Lalemant,  Relation,  1625,  in  Mercnre  Fran^ais,  XIII.  The  skiiia 
sold  at  a  pistole  each.  The  Caens  employed  forty  men  and  upwards 
in  Canada,  besides  a  hundi-ed  and  fifty  iu  their  ships. 


'2r)(j      HOSTILE  SECTS.  — RIVAL   INTERESTS.      [1627. 

fill  to  the  i)rinciple  of  freedom.  New  England 
Prot<:\stanti.sni  appealed  to  Liberty,  then  closed  the 
door  against  lier;  for  all  Protestantism  is  an  appeal 
from  priestly  authority  to  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment, and  the  New  England  Puritan,  after  claiming 
this  right  for  himself,  denied  it  to  all  who  differed 
with  liim.  On  a  stock  of  freedom  he  grafted  a  scion 
of  despotism ;  ^  yet  the  vital  juices  of  the  root  pene- 
trated at  last  to  the  uttermost  branches,  and  nourished 
them  to  an  irrepressible  strength  and  expansion. 
With  New  France  it  was  otherwise.     She  was  con- 

*  In  Massachusetts,  none  but  church-members  could  vote  or  hold 
office.  lu  other  words,  tlie  deputies  to  the  General  Court  were  deputies 
of  churches,  and  the  Governor  and  magistrates  were  church-members, 
elected  by  churcli-members.  Church  and  State  were  not  united  :  they 
were  identified.  A  majority  of  the  people,  including  men  of  wealth, 
ability,  and  character,  were  deprived  of  the  rights  of  freemen  because 
they  were  not  church-members.  When  some  of  them  petitioned  the 
General  Court  for  redress,  they  were  imprisoned  and  heavily  fined  as 
guilty  of  sedition.  Their  sedition  consisted  in  their  proposing  to 
appeal  to  Parliament,  though  it  was  then  composed  of  Puritans.  See 
Palfrey,  Histort/  of  New  England,  Vol.  II.  Ch.  IV. 

The  New  England  Puritans  were  foes,  not  only  of  episcopacy,  but 
of  presbytery.  But  under  their  system  of  separate  and  independent 
churches,  it  was  impossible  to  enforce  the  desired  uniformity  of  doc- 
trine. Therefore,  while  inveighing  against  English  and  Scottish  pres- 
bytery, they  establisiied  a  virtual  presbytery  of  tlieir  own.  A  distinction 
was  made.  The  New  England  Synod  could  not  coerce  an  erring  church ; 
it  could  only  advise  and  exhort.  This  was  clearly  insuiEcient,  and, 
accordingly,  in  cases  of  heresy  and  schism,  the  civil  power  was  invoked. 
That  is  to  say,  the  churches  in  tlieir  ecclesiastical  capacity  consigned 
doctrinal  offenders  for  punishment  to  the  same  churches  actiug  in  a 
civil  capacity,  wliile  they  professed  an  abomination  of  presbytery  be- 
cause it  endangered  liberty  of  conscience.  See  A  Platform  of  Church 
Discipline,  gathtr'd  out  of  (he  Word  of  God  and  agreed  upon  by  the 
Elders  and  Messengers  of  the  Churches  assembled  in  the  Synodal  Cam- 
bridge,  in  New  England,  Ch.  XVII.  §§  8,  9. 


1627.]  RICHELIEU.  257 

sistent  to  the  last.  Root,  stem,  and  branch,  she  was 
the  nursling  of  authority.  Deadly  absolutism  blighted 
her  early  and  her  later  growth.  Friars  and  Jesuits, 
a  Ventadour  and  a  Richelieu,  shaped  her  destinies. 
All  that  conflicted  against  advancing  liberty  —  the 
centralized  power  of  the  crown  and  the  tiara,  the 
ultramontane  in  religion,  the  despotic  in  policy  — 
found  their  fullest  expression  and  most  fatal  exercise. 
Her  records  shine  with  glorious  deeds,  the  self-devo- 
tion of  heroes  and  of  martyrs ;  and  the  result  of  all  is 
disorder,  imbecility,  ruin. 

The  great  champion  of  absolutism,  Richelieu,  was 
now  supreme  in  France.  His  thin  frame,  pale  cheek, 
and  cold,  calm  eye,  concealed  an  inexorable  will  and 
a  mind  of  vast  capacity,  armed  with  all  the  resources 
of  boldness  and  of  craft.  Under  his  potent  agency, 
the  royal  power,  in  the  weak  hands  of  Louis  the 
Thirteenth,  waxed  and  strengthened  daily,  triimiph- 
ing  over  the  factions  of  the  court,  the  turbulence  of 
the  Huguenots,  the  ambitious  independence  of  the 
nobles,  and  all  the  elements  of  anarchy  which,  since 
the  death  of  Henry  the  Fourth,  had  risen  into  fresh 
life.  With  no  friends  and  a  thousand  enemies, 
disliked  and  feared  by  the  pitiful  King  whom  he 
served,  making  his  tool  by  turns  of  every  party  and 
of  every  principle,  he  advanced  by  countless  crooked 
paths  towards  his  object,  —  the  greatness  of  France 
under  a  concentrated  and  undivided  authority. 

In  the  midst  of  more  urgent  cares,  he  addressed 
himself  to  fostering  the  commercial  and  naval  power. 

VOL.  II.  —  17 


258      HOSTILE  SECTS.  — RIVAL   INTERESTS.     [1627. 

Montmorency  then  held  the  ancient  charge  of  Admiral 
of  France.  Richelieu  bought  it,  suppressed  it,  and, 
in  its  stead,  constituted  himself  Grand  Master  and 
Superintendent  of  Navigation  and  Commerce.  In 
this  new  capacity,  the  mismanaged  affairs  of  New 
France  were  not  long  concealed  from  him;  and  he 
applied  a  prompt  and  powerful  remedy.  The  privi- 
leges of  the  Caens  were  annulled.  A  company  was 
formed,  to  consist  of  a  hundred  associates,  and  to  be 
called  the  Company  of  New  France.  Richelieu  him- 
self was  the  head,  and  the  Mar^chal  Deffiat  and  other 
men  of  rank,  besides  many  merchants  and  burghers 
of  condition,  were  members.^  The  whole  of  New 
France,  from  Florida  to  the  Arctic  Circle,  and  from 
Newfoundland  to  the  sources  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  its  tributary  waters,  was  conferred  on  them  for- 
ever, with  the  attributes  of  sovereign  power.  A  per- 
petual monopoly  of  the  fur-trade  was  granted  them, 
with  a  monopoly  of  all  other  commerce  within  the 
limits  of  their  government  for  fifteen  years. ^  The 
trade  of  the  colony  was  declared  free,  for  the  same 
period,  from  all  duties  and  imposts.  Nobles,  officei-s, 
and  ecclesiastics,  members  of  the  Company,  might 
engage  in  commercial  pursuits  without  derogating 
from  tlie  privileges  of  their  order;  and,  in  evidence 
of  his  good-will,  the  King  gave  them  two  ships  of 
war,  armed  and  equipped. 

*  Noms,  Sumoms,  et  Qualitez  des  Associez  de  la  Compagme  de  la 
Ncntvelle  France. 

The  whale  aud  the  cod  fishery  were,  however,  to  remain  open 
to  all. 


1627.]  EXCLUSION  OF  HUGUENOTS.  259 

On  their  part,  the  Company  were  bound  to  convey- 
to  New  France  during  the  next  year,  1628,  two  or 
three  hmidred  men  of  all  trades,  and  before  the  year 
1643  to  increase  the  number  to  four  thousand  persons,  ^ 
of  both  sexes ;  to  lodge  and  support  them  for  three 
years;  and,  this  time  expired,  to  give  them  cleared 
lands  for  their  maintenance.  Every  settler  must  be 
a  Frenchman  and  a  Catholic;  and  for  every  new 
settlement  at  least  three  ecclesiastics  must  be  pro- 
vided. Thus  was  New  France  to  be  forever  free 
from  the  taint  of  heresy.  The  stain  of  her  infancy 
was  to  be  wiped  away.  Against  the  foreigner  and 
the  Huguenot  the  door  was  closed  and  barred.  Eng- 
land threw  open  her  colonies  to  all  who  wished  to 
enter,  —  to  the  suffering  and  oppressed,  the  bold, 
active,  and  enterprising.  France  shut  out  those  who 
wished  to  come,  and  admitted  only  those  who  did 
not,  —  the  favored  class  who  clung  to  the  old  faith 
and  had  no  motive  or  disposition  to  leave  their  homes. 
English  colonization  obeyed  a  natural  law,  and  sailed 
with  wind  and  tide;  French  colonization  spent  its 
whole  struggling  existence  in  futile  efforts  to  make 
head  against  them.  The  English  colonist  developed 
inherited  freedom  on  a  virgin  soil ;  the  French  colonist 
was  pursued  across  the  Atlantic  by  a  paternal  despot- 
ism better  in  intention  and  more  withering  in  effect 

^  Charlevoix  erroneously  says  sixteen  thousand.  Compare  Acte 
pour  V  Bj  laid  is  seme  nt  de  la  Coiiipaqiiie  des  Cent  Associes,  in  Mercure 
Frangciis,  XIV.  Partie  II.  232  ;  Edits  et  Ordonnances,  I.  5.  The  act  of 
establishment  was  originally  pnblislied  in  a  small  duodecimo  volume, 
which  differs,  though  not  very  essentially,  from  the  copy  in  the  Mercure, 


200      HOSTILE   SECTS.  — RIVAL   INTERESTS.      [1627. 

tliiiTi  that  which  he  left  behind.  If,  instead  of  exclud- 
ing Huguenots,  France  had  given  them  an  asylum  in 
the  west,  and  left  them  there  to  work  out  their  own 
destinies,  Canada  would  never  have  been  a  British 
province,  and  the  United  States  would  have  shared 
their  vast  domain  with  a  vigorous  population  of  self- 
governing  Frenchmen. 

A  trading  company  was  now  feudal  proprietor  of 
all  domains  in  North  America  within  the  claim  of 
France.  Fealty  and  homage  on  its  part,  and  on  the 
part  of  the  Crown  the  appointment  of  supreme  judi- 
cial officers,  and  the  confirmation  of  the  titles  of 
dukes,  marquises,  counts,  and  barons,  were  the  only 
reservations.  The  King  heaped  favors  on  the  new 
corporation.  Twelve  of  the  bourgeois  members  were 
ennobled;  while  artisans  and  even  manufacturers 
were  tempted,  by  extraordinaiy  privileges,  to  emi- 
grate to  the  New  World.  The  associates,  of  whom 
Champlain  was  one,  entered  upon  their  functions 
with  a  capital  of  three  hundred  thousand  livr-es.^ 

^  Articles  et  Conventions  de  Societe  et  Compagnie,  in  Mercure  Fran- 
fais,  XIV.  Partie  II.  250. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

1628,  1629. 

THE  ENGLISH  AT  QUEBEC. 

Revolt  of  Rochelle.  —  War  with  England.  —  The  English  on 
THE  St.  Lawrence.  —  Bold  Attitude  of  Chamflain.  —  The 
French  Sqiadron  destroyed.  —  Famine.  —  Return  of  the 
English.  —  Quebec  surrendered. — Another  Naval  Battle. 
—  Michel.  —  Chamflain  at  London. 

The  first  care  of  the  new  Company  was  to  succor 
Quebec,  whose  mmates  were  on  the  verge  of  starva- 
tion. Four  armed  vessels,  with  a  fleet  of  transports 
commanded  by  Roquemont,  one  of  the  associates, 
sailed  from  Dieppe  with  colonists  and  supplies  in 
April,  1628;  but  nearly  at  the  same  time  another 
squadron,  destined  also  for  Quebec,  was  sailing  from 
an  English  port.  War  had  at  length  broken  out  in 
France.  The  Huguenot  revolt  had  come  to  a  head. 
Rochelle  was  in  arms  against  the  King ;  and  Richelieu, 
with  his  royal  ward,  was  beleaguering  it  ^vith  the 
whole  strength  of  the  kingdom.  Charles  the  First 
of  England,  urged  by  the  heated  passions  of  Bucking- 
ham, had  declared  himself  for  the  rebels,  and  sent  a 
fleet  to  their  aid.  At  home,  Charles  detested  the 
followers  of  Calvin  as  dangerous  to  his  own  author- 


2fi2  THE  ENGLISH  AT  QUEBEC.  [1628. 

ity;  iihroad,  he  befriended  them  £is  dangerous  to  the 
aulliority  of  a  rival.  In  France,  Richelieu  crushed 
Protestantism  as  a  curb  to  the  house  of  Bourbon;  in 
Germany,  he  nursed  and  strengthened  it  as  a  curb  to 
the  house  of  Austria. 

Tlie  attempts  of  Sir  William  Alexander  to  colonize 
Acadia  had  of  late  turned  attention  in  England 
towards  the  New  World;  and  on  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  an  expedition  was  set  on  foot,  under  the 
auspices  of  that  singular  personage,  to  seize  on  the 
French  possessions  in  North  America.  It  was  a 
private  enterprise,  undertaken  by  London  merchants, 
prominent  among  whom  was  Gervase  Kirke,  an 
Englishman  of  Derbyshire,  who  had  long  lived  at 
Dieppe,  and  had  there  married  a  Frenchwoman.  ^ 
Gervase  Kirke  and  his  associates  fitted  out  three 
small  armed  ships,  commanded  respectively  by  his 
sons  David,  Lewis,  and  Thomas.  Letters  of  marque 
were  obtained  from  the  King,  and  the  adventurers 
were  authorized  to  drive  out  the  French  from  Acadia 
and  Canada.  INIany  Huguenot  refugees  w^ere  among 
tlie  crews.  Having  been  expelled  from  New  France 
as  settlers,  the  persecuted  sect  were  returning  as 
enemies.  One  Captain  Michel,  who  had  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Caens,  "  a  furious  Calvinist, "  2  is  said  to 
have  instigated  the  attempt,  acting,  it  is  affirmed, 
under  the  influence  of  one  of  his  former  employers. 

'  rienry  Kirke,  F/)s<  English  Conquest  of  Canada  (1871),  27,  28, 
206-208.  David  Kirke  was  knighted  in  Scotland.  Hence  he  is  said 
to  have  been  Scotch  by  descent. 

'  Charlevoix,  I.  171. 


1628.J  ATTACK   AT   CAPE   TOURMEXTE.  263 

Meanwhile  the  famislied  tenants  of  Queloec  were 
eagerly  waiting  the  expected  succor.  Daily  they 
gazed  beyond  Point  Levi  and  along  the  channels  of 
Orleans,  in  the  vain  hope  of  seeing  the  approaching 
Bails.  At  length,  on  the  ninth  of  July,  two  men, 
worn  with  struggling  through  forests  and  over 
torrents,  crossed  the  St.  Charles  and  mounted  the 
rock.  They  were  from  Cape  Tourmente,  where 
Champlain  had  some  time  before  established  an  out- 
post, and  they  brought  news  that,  according  to  the 
report  of  Indians,  six  large  vessels  lay  in  the  harbor 
of  Tadoussac.^  The  friar  Le  Caron  was  at  Queliec, 
and,  ^\dth  a  brother  Rdcollet,  lie  went  in  a  canoe  to 
gain  fvirther  intelligence.  As  the  missionary  scouts 
were  paddling  along  the  borders  of  the  Island  of 
Orleans,  they  met  two  canoes  advancing  in  hot  haste, 
manned  by  Indians,  who  with  shouts  and  gestures 
warned  them  to  tuni  back. 

The  friare,  however,  waited  till  the  canoes  came 
up,  when  they  saw  a  man  lying  disabled  at  the  bottom 
of  one  of  them,  his  moustaches  burned  by  the  flash  of 
the  musket  which  had  wounded  him.  He  proved  to 
be  Foucher,  who  commanded  at  Cape  Tourmente. 
On  that  morning,  —  such  was  the  story  of  the  fugi- 
tives, —  twenty  men  had  landed  at  that  post  from  a 
small  fishing- vessel.  Being  to  all  appearance  French, 
they  were  hospitably  received;  but  no  sooner  had 
they  entered  the  houses  than  they  began  to  pillage 

1  Champlain  (1632,  Seconde  Partie),  152. 


2t)4  THE  ENGLISH  AT  QUEBEC.  [1628. 

and  l)iirn  all  before  them,  killing  the  cattle,  wounding 
the  cominandant,  and  making  several  prisoners.^ 

The  character  of  the  fleet  at  Tadoussac  was  now 
sufficiently  clear.  Quebec  was  incapable  of  defence. 
Only  fifty  pounds  of  gunpowder  were  left  in  the 
magazine ;  and  the  fort,  owing  to  the  neglect  and  ill- 
will  of  the  Caens,  was  so  wretchedly  constructed, 
that,  a  few  days  before,  tvvo  towers  of  the  main 
building  had  fallen.  Champlain,  however,  assigned 
to  each  man  his  post,  and  waited  the  result.  ^  On 
the  next  afternoon,  a  boat  was  seen  issuing  from 
behind  the  Point  of  Orleans  and  hovering  hesitatingly 
about  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Charles.  On  being  chal- 
lenged, the  men  on  board  proved  to  be  Basque  fisher- 
men, lately  captured  by  the  English,  and  now  sent 
by  Kirke  unwilling  messengers  to  Champlain.  Climb- 
ing the  steep  pathway  to  the  fort,  they  delivered  their 
letter,  —  a  summons,  couched  in  terms  of  great 
courtesy,  to  surrender  Quebec.  There  was  no  hope 
l)ut  in  courage.  A  bold  front  must  supply  the  lack 
of  batteries  and  ramparts;  and  Champlain  dismissed 
the  Basques  with  a  reply,  in  which,  Avith  equal  cour- 
tesy, he  expressed  his  determination  to  hold  his 
position  to  the  last.^ 

All  now  stood  on  the  watch,  hourly  expecting  the 
enemy;  when,  instead  of  the  hostile  squadron,  a 
small  boat  crept  into  sight,  and  one  Desdames,  mth 
teu    Frenchmen,    landed    at    the    storehouses.     He 

1  Sagard,  919.  2  iq  July,  1628. 

*  Sagard,  922;  Champlain  (1632,  Seconde  Bartie),  157. 


1629.]  FAMINE.  265 

brought  stirring  news.  The  French  commander, 
Roquemont,  had  despatched  him  to  tell  Champlain 
that  the  ships  of  the  Hundred  Associates  were  ascend- 
ing the  St.  Lawrence,  with  reinforcements  and  sup- 
plies of  all  kinds.  But  on  his  way  Desdames  had 
seen  an  ominous  sight,  —  the  English  squadron  stand- 
ing under  full  sail  out  of  Tadoussac,  and  steering 
downwards  as  if  to  intercept  the  advancing  succor. 
He  had  only  escaped  them  by  dragging  his  boat  up 
the  beach  and  hiding  it;  and  scarcely  were  they  out 
of  sight  when  the  boommg  of  cannon  told  him  that 
the  fight  was  begun. 

Racked  with  suspense,  the  starving  tenants  of 
Quebec  waited  the  result;  but  they  waited  in  vain. 
No  white  sail  moved  athwart  the  green  solitudes  of 
Orleans.  Neither  friend  nor  foe  appeared;  and  it 
was  not  till  long  afterward  that  Indians  brought  them 
the  tidings  that  Roquemont's  crowded  transports  had 
been  overpowered,  and  all  the  supplies  destined  to 
relieve  their  miseries  sunk  in  the  St.  Lawrence  or 
seized  by  the  victorious  English.  Kirke,  however, 
deceived  by  the  bold  attitude  of  Champlain,  had  been 
too  discreet  to  attack  Quebec,  and  after  his  victory 
employed  himself  in  cruising  for  French  fishing- 
vessels  along  the  borders  of  the  Gulf. 

Meanwhile,  the  suffering  at  Quebec  increased 
daily.  Somewhat  less  than  a  hundred  men,  women. 
and  children  were  cooped  up  in  the  fort,  subsisting 
on  a  meagre  pittance  of  pease  and  Indian  corn.  The 
garden  of  the  Huberts,  the  only  thrifty  settlere,  was 


266  THE  ENGLISH   AT  QUEBEC.  [1629. 

ransacked  for  every  root  or  seed  that  could  afford 
nntrimont.  Months  wore  on,  and  in  the  spring  the 
distress  had  risen  to  such  a  pitch  that  Champlain  had 
weUnigh  resolved  to  leave  to  the  women,  children, 
and  sick  the  little  food  that  remained,  and  with  the 
able-bodied  men  invade  the  Iroquois,  seize  one  of 
their  villages,  fortify  himself  in  it,  and  sustain  his 
followers  on  the  buried  stores  of  maize  with  which 
the  strongliolds  of  these  provident  savages  were 
always  fm-nished. 

Seven  ounces  of  pounded  pease  were  now  the  daily 
food  of  each;  and,  at  the  end  of  May,  even  this 
failed.  Men,  women,  and  children  betook  them- 
selves to  the  woods,  gathering  acorns  and  grubbing 
up  roots.  Those  of  the  plant  called  Solomon's  seal 
were  most  in  request.^  Some  joined  the  Hurons  or 
the  Algonquins ;  some  wandered  towards  the  Abenakis 
of  Maine ;  some  descended  in  a  boat  to  Gasp^,  trust- 
ing to  meet  a  French  fishing-vessel.  There  was 
scarcely  one  who  would  not  have  hailed  the  English 
as  deliverers.  But  the  English  had  sailed  home  with 
their  booty,  and  the  season  was  so  late  that  there  was 
little  prospect  of  their  return.  Forgotten  alike  by 
friends  and  foes,  Quebec  was  on  the  verge  of 
extinction. 

On  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth  of  July,  an 
Indian,  renowned  as  a  fisher  of  eels,  who  had  built 
his  hut  on  the  St.  Charles,  hard  by  the  new  dwelling 
of  the  Jesuits,  came,  with  his  usual  imperturbability 

1  Sagard,  977. 


1629.]  QUEBEC   SURRENDERED.  267 

of  visage,  to  Champlain.  He  had  just  discovered 
"three  ships  sailing  up  the  south  channel  of  Orleans. 
Champlain  was  alone.  All  his  followers  were  absent, 
fishing  or  searcliing  for  roots.  At  about  ten  o'clock 
his  servant  appeared  with  four  small  bags  of  roots, 
and  the  tidings  that  he  had  seen  the  three  ships  a 
league  off,  behind  Point  Levi.  As  man  after  man 
hastened  in,  Champlain  ordered  the  starved  and 
ragged  band,  sixteen  in  all,^  to  their  posts,  whence 
with  hungry  eyes,  they  watched  the  English  vessels 
anchoring  in  the  basin  below,  and  a  boat  with  a  white 
flag  moving  towards  the  shore.  A  young  officer 
landed  with  a  summons  to  surrender.  The  terms  of 
capitulation  were  at  length  settled.  The  French 
were  to  be  conveyed  to  their  own  country,  and  each 
soldier  was  allowed  to  take  with  him  his  clothes,  and, 
in  addition,  a  coat  of  beaver-skin.^  On  this  some 
murmuring  rose,  several  of  those  who  had  gone  to 
the  Hurons  having  lately  returned  with  peltry  of  no 
small  value.  Their  complaints  were  vain;  and  on 
the  twentieth  of  July,  amid  the  roar  of  cannon  from 
the  ships,  Lewis  Kirke,  the  Admiral's  brother,  landed 
at  the  head  of  his  soldiers,  and  planted  the  cross  of 
St.  George  where  the  followers  of  Wolfe  again 
planted  it  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  later.  After 
inspecting  the  worthless  fort,  he  repaired  to  the 
houses   of    the    RdcoUets    and    Jesuits    on   the    St. 

1  Champlain  (1632,  Seconde  Partie),  267. 

^  Articles  granted  to  the  Sieurs  Champlain  and  Le  Pont  by  Thomas 
Kearke,  19  July,  1629. 


268  THE   ENGLISH   AT   QUEBEC.  [1629. 

Charles.  He  treated  the  former  with  great  courtesy, 
but  displayed  against  the  latter  a  violent  aversion, 
expressing  his  regret  that  he  could  not  have  begun 
his  operations  by  battering  their  house  about  their 
ears.  The  inhabitants  had  no  cause  to  complain  of 
him.  He  urged  the  widow  and  family  of  the  settler 
Hubert,  the  patriarch,  as  he  has  been  styled,  of  New 
France,  to  remain  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  industry 
under  English  allegiance ;  and,  as  beggary  in  France 
was  the  alternative,  his  offer  was  accepted. 

Champlain,  bereft  of  his  command,  grew  restless, 
and  begged  to  be  sent  to  Tadoussac,  where  the 
Admiral,  David  Kirke,  lay  with  his  main  squadron, 
having  sent  his  brothers  Lewis  and  Thomas  to  seize 
Quebec.  Accordingly,  Champlain,  with  the  Jesuits, 
embarking  with  Thomas  Kirke,  descended  the  river. 
Off  Mai  Bay  a  strange  sail  was  seen.  As  she 
approached,  she  proved  to  be  a  French  ship.  In  fact, 
she  was  on  her  way  to  Quebec  with  supplies,  which, 
if  earlier  sent,  would  have  saved  the  place.  She  had 
passed  the  Admiral's  squadron  in  a  fog;  but  here  her 
good  fortune  ceased.  Thomas  Kirke  bore  down  on 
her,  and  the  cannonade  began.  The  fight  was  hot 
and  doubtful ;  but  at  length  the  French  struck,  and 
Kirke  sailed  into  Tadoussac  with  his  prize.  Here 
lay  his  brother,  the  Admiral,  mth  five  armed  ships. 

Tlie  Admiral's  two  voyages  to  Canada  were  private 
ventures;  and  though  he  had  captured  nineteen 
fishing-vessels,  besides  Roquemont's  eighteen  trans- 
ports and  other  prizes,  the  result  had  not  answered 


16L»9.;l  MICHEL  AND  THE  JESUITS.  269 

liis  hopes.  His  mood,  therefore,  was  far  from  benign, 
especially  as  he  feared,  that,  owing  to  the  declaration 
of  peace,  he  would  be  forced  to  disgorge  a  part  of  his 
booty;  yet,  excepting  the  Jesuits,  he  treated  his 
captives  with  courtesy,  and  often  amused  himself 
with  shooting  larks  on  shore  in  company  with 
Champlain.  The  Huguenots,  however,  of  whom 
there  were  many  in  his  ships,  showed  an  exceeding 
bitterness  against  the  Catholics.  Chief  among  them 
was  Michel,  who  had  instigated  and  conducted  the 
enterprise,  the  merchant  admiral  being  but  an  indif- 
ferent seaman.  Michel,  whose  skill  was  great,  held 
a  high  command  and  the  title  of  Rear-Admiral.  He 
was  a  man  of  a  sensitive  temperament,  easily  piqued 
on  the  point  of  honor.  His  morbid  and  irritable 
nerves  were  wrought  to  the  pitch  of  frenzy  by  the 
reproaches  of  treachery  and  perfidy  with  which  the 
French  prisoners  assailed  him,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  was  in  a  state  of  continual  rage  at  the 
fancied  neglect  and  contumely  of  his  English  asso- 
ciates. He  raved  against  Kirke,  who,  as  he  declared, 
treated  him  with  an  insupportable  arrogance.  "I 
have  left  my  countiy,"  he  exclaimed,  "for  the  service 
of  foreigners ;  and  they  give  me  nothing  but  ingrati- 
tude and  scorn."  His  fevered  mind,  acting  on  his 
diseased  body,  often  excited  him  to  transports  of 
fuiy,  in  which  he  cureed  indiscriminately  the  people 
of  St.  Malo,  against  whom  he  had  a  grudge,  and  the 
Jesuits,  whom  he  detested.  On  one  occasion,  Kirke 
was  conversing  with  some  of  the  latter. 


270  THE  ENGLISH  AT  QUEBEC.  [1G29 

"Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "your  business  in  Canada 
was  to  enjoy  wliat  belonged  to  M.  de  Caen,  whom 
you  dispossessed." 

"Pardon  me,  sir,"  answered  Br^beuf,  "we  came 
purely  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  exposed  ourselves  to 
eveiy  kind  of  danger  to  convert  the  Indians.  '* 

Here  Michel  broke  in:  "Ay,  ay,  convert  the 
Indians  I     You  mean,  convert  the  beaver  1" 

"  That  is  false !  "  retorted  Br^beuf . 

Michel  raised  his  fist,  exclaiming,  "But  for  the 
respect  I  owe  the  General,  I  would  strike  you  for 
giving  me  the  lie." 

Br^beuf,  a  man  of  powerful  frame  and  vehement 
passions,  nevertheless  regained  his  practised  self- 
command,  and  replied:  "You  must  excuse  me.  I 
did  not  mean  to  give  you  the  lie.  I  should  be  very- 
sorry  to  do  so.  The  words  I  used  are  those  we  use 
in  the  schools  when  a  doubtful  question  is  advanced, 
and  they  mean  no  offence.  Therefore  I  ask  you  to 
pardon  me." 

Despite  the  apology,  Michel's  frenzied  brain  harped 
on  the  presumed  insult,  and  he  raved  about  it  with- 
out ceasing. 

"^ow  Dieu!^^  said  Champlain,  "you  swear  well  for 
a  Ref onner !  " 

"I  know  it,"  returned  Michel;  "I  should  be  con- 
tent if  I  had  but  struck  that  Jesuit  who  gave  me  the 
lie  before  my  General." 

At  length,  one  of  his  transports  of  rage  ended  in  a 
lethargy  from  which  he  never  awoke.     His  funeral 


1629.]  EXPLOIT   OF  DANIEL.  271 

was  conducted  with  a  pomp  suited  to  his  rank ;  and, 
amid  discharges  of  cannon  whose  dreary  roar  was 
echoed  from  the  yawning  gulf  of  the  Saguenay,  his 
body  was  borne  to  its  rest  under  the  rocks  of 
Tadoussac.  Good  Catholics  and  good  Frenchmen 
saw  in  his  fate  the  immediate  finger  of  Providence. 
"I  do  not  doubt  that  his  soul  is  in  perdition,"  remarks 
Champlain,  who,  however,  had  endeavored  to  befriend 
the  unfortunate  man  during  the  access  of  his  frenzy.  ^ 

Having  finished  their  carousings,  which  were  pro- 
fuse, and  their  trade  with  the  Indians,  which  was  not 
lucrative,  the  English  steered  down  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Kirke  feared  greatly  a  meeting  with  Razilly,  a  naval 
officer  of  distinction,  2  who  was  to  have  sailed  from 
France  with  a  strong  force  to  succor  Quebec;  but, 
peace  having  been  proclaimed,  the  expedition  had 
been  limited  to  two  ships  under  Captain  Daniel. 
Thus  Kirke,  wilfully  ignoring  the  treaty  of  peace, 
was  left  to  pursue  his  depredations  unmolested. 
Daniel,  however,  though  too  weak  to  cope  with  him, 
achieved  a  signal  exploit.  On  the  island  of  Cape 
Breton,  near  the  site  of  Louisburg,  he  found  an 
English  fort,  built  two  months  before,  under  the 
auspices,  doubtless,  of  Sir  William  Alexander. 
Daniel,    regarding    it   as   a   bold    encroachment    on 

1  Champlain  (1632,  Seconde  Partie),  256:  "  Je  ne  doute  point 
qu'elle  ne  soit  aux  eufers."  The  dialogue  above  is  literally  translated. 
The  Jesuits  Le  Jeuue  and  Charlevoix  tell  the  story  with  evident  satis- 
faction. 

2  Claude  de  Razilly  was  one  of  three  brothers,  all  distinguished  in 
the  marine  service. 


272  THE  ENGLISH   AT  QUEBEC.  [1629. 

French  territory,  stormed  it  at  the  head  of  his  pike- 
men,  entered  sword  in  hand,  and  took  it  with  all  its 
defenders.^ 

Meanwhile,  Kirke  with  his  prisoners  was  cross- 
ing the  Atlantic.  His  squadron  at  length  reached 
Plymouth,  whence  Champlain  set  out  for  London. 
Here  he  had  an  interview  with  the  French  ambas- 
sador, who,  at  his  instance,  gained  from  the  King  a 
promise,  that,  in  pursuance  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
concluded  in  the  previous  April,  New  France  should 
he  restored  to  the  French  Crown. 

It  long  remained  a  mystery  why  Charles  consented 
to  a  stipulation  which  pledged  him  to  resign  so  impor- 
tant a  conquest.  The  mystery  is  explained  by  the 
recent  discovery  of  a  letter  from  the  King  to  Sir  Isaac 
Wake,  his  ambassador  at  Paris.  The  promised  dowry 
of  Queen  Henrietta  Maria,  amounting  to  eight  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns,  had  been  but  half  paid  by  the 
French  government,  and  Charles,  then  at  issue  with 
his  Parliament,  and  in  desperate  need  of  money, 
instructs  his  ambassador,  that,  when  he  receives  the 
balance  due,  and  not  before,  he  is  to  give  up  to  the 
French  both  Quebec  and  Port  Royal,  which  had  also 
been  captured  by  Kirke.  The  letter  was  accompanied 
by  "  solemn  instruments  under  our  hand  and  seal "  to 
make  good  the  transfer  on  fulfilment  of  the  condition. 
It  was  for  a  sum  equal  to  about  two  hundred  and 

^  Relation  du  Voyage  fait  par  le  Capitaine  Daniel;  Champlain  (1632» 
Seconde  Partie),  271.  Captain  Farrar,  who  commanded  the  fort,  de- 
clares, however,  that  they  were  "  treacherously  surprised."  Petition  of 
Captain  Constance  Farrar,  Dec,  1629. 


1629.]  MOTIVES  OF  CHARLES  L  273 

forty  thousand  dollars  that  Charles  entailed  on  Great 
Britain  and  her  colonies  a  century  of  bloody  wars. 
The  Kirkes  and  their  associates,  who  had  made  the 
conquest  at  their  own  cost,  under  the  royal  author- 
ity, were  never  reimbursed,  though  David  Kirke 
received  the  honor  of  knighthood,  which  cost  the 
King  nothing.  1 

1  Charles  I.  to  Sir  Isaac  Wake,  12  June,  1631,  printed  in  Brymner, 
Report  on  Canadian  Archives,  1884,  p.  Ix. 

Before  me  is  a  copy  of  tlie  original  agreement  for  the  restitution  of 
Quebec  and  Port  Royal,  together  with  ships  and  goods  taken  after  the 
peace.  It  is  indorsed,  Articles  arrest€s  entre  les  Deputes  des  Deux  Cou- 
ronnes  pour  la  Restitution  des  Choses  qui  ont  ete  prinses  depuis  le  Traicte 
de  Paixfait  entre  elks;  24  Avril,  1629.  It  was  not  till  two  years  later 
that  King  Charles  carried  it  into  effect,  on  receiving  the  portion  of  the 
Queen.  See  also  Lettres  de  Chateauneuf,  Ambassadeur  de  France,  au 
Cardinal  de  Richelieu,  Nov.,  Dec,  1629,  and  Memorial  of  the  French 
Ambassador  to  King  Charles,  Feb.,  1630;  Lord  Dorchester  to  Sir  Isaac 
Wa/ce,  15  April,  1630;  Examination  of  Capt.  David  Kirke  before  Sir 
Henry  Marten,  27  May  (7),  1631  ;  The  King  to  Sir  William  Alexander, 
12  June,  1632  ;  Extrait  concernant  ce  qui  s'est  passe  daiis  I'Acadie  et  le 
Canada  en  1627  et  1628  tire  d'un  Requite  du  Chevalier  Louis  Kirk,  in 
Mvmoires  des  Commissaires,  II.  275;  Literce  continentes  Promissionem 
Regis  ad  tradendum,  etc.,  in  Hazard,  I.  314  ;  Traite  de  Paixfait  a  Suze, 
Il)id.  319 ;  Reglemens  entre  les  Roijs  de  France  et  d'Angleterre  in  Mercure 
Fran^ais,  XVIII.  39 ;  Bu.shworth,  II.  24  ;  Traite  entre  le  Roi  Louis 
XIIL  et  Charles  I.,  Roi  d'Angleterre,  pour  la  Restitution  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  I'Acadie,  et  Canada,  29  Mars,  1632. 

In  the  Archives  des  Affaires  Etrangeres  is  a  letter,  not  signed,  but 
evidently  written  by  Champlain,  apparently  on  the  16th  of  October, 
the  day  of  his  arrival  in  England.  It  gives  a  few  details  not  in  his 
])rinted  narrative.  It  states  tliat  Lewis  Kirke  took  two  silver  chalices 
from  a  chest  of  the  Jesuits,  on  which  tlie  Jesuit  Masse  said,  "  Do  not 
profane  them,  for  they  are  sacred."  "  I'rofane  them ! "  returned 
Kirke;  "since  you  tell  me  that,  I  will  keep  them,  which  I  would  not 
have  done  otherwise.  I  take  them  because  you  believe  in  them,  for  I 
will  have  no  idolatry." 

VOL.   II. —  18 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

1632-1635. 
DEATH  OF  CHAMPLAIN. 

New  Frakce  restored  to  the  French  Crown.  —  Zeal  of  Cham- 
plain. —  The  English  leave  Quebec.  —  Return  of  Jesuits. 
—  Arrival  of  Champlain.  —  Daily  Life  at  Quebec.  —  Propa- 
GANDisM.  —  Policy  and  Religion.  —  Death  of  Champlain. 

On  Monday,  the  fifth  of  July,  1632,  :&mery  de 
Caen  anchored  before  Quebec.  He  was  commissioned 
by  the  French  Crown  to  reclaim  the  place  from  the 
English;  to  hold  for  one  year  a  monopoly  of  the  fur- 
trade,  as  an  indemnity  for  his  losses  in  the  war ;  and, 
when  this  time  had  expired,  to  give  place  to  the 
Hundred  Associates  of  New  France. ^ 

By  the  convention  of  Suza,  New  France  was  to  be 
restored  to  the  French  Crown ;  yet  it  had  been  matter 
of  debate  whether  a  fulfilment  of  this  engagement  was 
worth  the  demanding.  That  wilderness  of  woods 
and  savages  had  been  ruinous  to  nearly  all  connected 
with  it.  The  Caens,  successful  at  first,  had  suffered 
heavily  in  the  end.  The  Associates  were  on  the 
verge  of  bankruptcy.  These  deserts  were  useless 
unless  peopled ;  and  to  people  them  would  depopulate 

^  1  Articles  accordes  au  Sr.  de  Caen,-  Acte  de  Protestation  du  Sr.  de 
Caen. 


1632.]  OLD  AND  NEW  FRANCE.  275 

France.  Thus  argued  the  inexperienced  reasoners  of 
the  time,  judging  from  the  ^vTetched  precedents  of 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  colonization.  The  world 
had  not  as  yet  the  example  of  an  island  kingdom, 
which,  vitalized  by  a  stable  and  regulated  liberty,  has 
peopled  a  continent  and  spread  colonies  over  all  the 
earth,  gaining  constantly  new  vigor  with  the  matchless 
growth  of  its  offspring. 

On  the  other  hand,  honor,  it  was  urged,  demanded 
that  France  should  be  reinstated  in  the  land  which 
she  had  discovered  and  explored.  Should  she,  the 
centre  of  civilization,  remain  cooped  up  within  her 
own  narrow  limits,  while  rivals  and  enemies  were 
sharing  the  vast  regions  of  the  West?  The  com- 
merce and  fisheries  of  New  France  would  in  time 
become  a  school  for  French  sailors.  Mines  even 
now  might  be  discovered;  and  the  fur-trade,  well 
conducted,  could  not  but  be  a  source  of  wealth. 
Disbanded  soldiers  and  women  from  the  streets  might 
be  shipped  to  Canada.  Thus  New  France  would  be 
peopled  and  old  France  purified.  A  power  more 
potent  than  reason  reinforced  such  arguments. 
Richelieu  seems  to  have  regarded  it  as  an  act  of 
})ersonal  encroachment  that  the  subjects  of  a  foreign 
crown  should  seize  on  the  domain  of  a  company  of 
which  lie  was  the  head;  and  it  could  not  be  sup- 
posed, that,  \vith  power  to  eject  them,  the  arrogant 
minister  would  suffer  them  to  remain  in  undisturbed 
possession. 

A  spirit  far  purer  and  more  generous  was  active 


276  DEATH  OF  CHAMPLAIN.  [1632. 

in  the  same  behalf.  Tlie  character  of  Champlain 
belonged  rather  to  the  Middle  Age  than  to  the 
seventeenth  century.  Long  toil  and  endurance  had 
calmed  the  adventurous  enthusiasm  of  his  youth  into 
a  steadfast  earnestness  of  purpose ;  and  he  gave  him- 
self with  a  loyal  zeal  and  devotedness  to  the  pro- 
foundly mistaken  principles  which  he  had  espoused. 
In  his  mind,  patriotism  and  religion  were  inseparably 
linked.  France  was  the  champion  of  Christianity, 
and  her  honor,  her  greatness,  were  involved  in  her 
fidelity  to  this  high  function.  Should  she  abandon 
to  perdition  the  darkened  nations  among  whom  she 
had  cast  the  first  faint  rays  of  hope?  Among  the 
members  of  the  Company  were  those  who  shared  his 
zeal ;  and  though  its  capital  was  exhausted,  and  many 
of  the  merchants  were  withdrawing  in  despair,  these 
enthusiasts  formed  a  subordinate  association,  raised  a 
new  fund,  and  embarked  on  the  venture  afresh.^ 

England,  then,  resigned  her  prize,  and  Caen  was 
despatched  to  reclaim  Quebec  from  the  reluctant 
hands  of  Thomas  Kirke.  The  latter,  obedient  to  an 
order  from  the  King  of  England,  struck  his  flag, 
embarked  his  followers,  and  abandoned  the  scene  of 
his  conquest.  Caen  landed  with  the  Jesuits,  Paul  le 
Jeune  and  Anne  de  la  None.  They  climbed  the 
steep  stairway  which  led  up  the  rock,  and,  as  they 
reached  the  top,  the  dilapidated  fort  lay  on  their 
left,  while  farther  on  was  the  stone  cottage  of  the 
Huberts,  surrounded  mth  its  vegetable  gardens,  — 

1  Etat  de  la  depense  de  la  Compagnie  de  la  Nouvelle  France. 


1633.]        CHAMPLAIN  RESUMES   COMMAND.  277 

the  only  thrifty  spot  amid  a  scene  of  neglect.  But 
few  Indians  could  be  seen.  True  to  their  native 
instincts,  they  had,  at  first,  left  the  defeated  French 
and  welcomed  the  conquerors.  Their  English  partiali- 
ties were,  however,  but  short-lived.  Their  intrusion 
into  houses  and  store-rooms,  the  stench  of  their 
tobacco,  and  their  importunate  begging,  though 
before  borne  patiently,  were  rewarded  by  the  new- 
comers with  oaths  and  sometimes  with  blows.  The 
Indians  soon  shunned  Quebec,  seldom  approaching 
it  except  when  drawn  by  necessity  or  a  craving 
for  brandy.  This  was  now  the  case;  and  sev- 
eral Algonquin  families,  maddened  with  drink,  were 
howling,  screeching,  and  fighting  within  their  bark 
lodges.  The  women  were  frenzied  like  the  men.  It 
was  dangerous  to  approach  the  place  unarmed.  ^ 

In  the  following  spring,  1633,  on  the  twenty-third 
of  May,  Champlain,  commissioned  anew  by  Riche- 
lieu, resumed  command  at  Quebec  in  behalf  of  the 
Company. 2  Father  le  Jeune,  Superior  of  the  mis- 
sion, was  wakened  from  his  morning  sleep  by  the 
boom  of  the  saluting  cannon.  Before  he  could  sally 
forth,  the  convent  door  was  darkened  by  the  stately 
form  of  his  brother  Jesuit,  Br^beuf,  newly  arrived; 
and  the  Indians  who  stood  by  uttered  ejaculations  of 
astonishment  at  the  raptures  of  their  greeting.  The 
father  hastened  to  the  fort,  and  arrived  in  time  to 

1  Relation  die  Voyage  fail  h  Canada  pour  la  Prise  de  Possession  du 
Fort  de  Quebec  par  les  Francois  in  Merrure  Frangais,  XVIII. 

2  Voyage  de  Champlain  in  Mercure  Fran^ais,  XIX. ;  Lettre  de  Caen 


278  DEATH  OF  CHAMPLAIN.  [1633. 

KPO  a  file  of  musketeers  and  pikemen  mounting  the 
pathway  of  the  cliff  below,  and  the  heretic  Caen 
resigning  the  keys  of  the  citadel  into  the  Catholic 
hands  of  Champlain.  Le  Jeune's  delight  exudes  in 
praises  of  one  not  always  a  theme  of  Jesuit  eulogy, 
but  on  whom,  in  the  hope  of  a  continuance  of  his 
favors,  no  praise  could  now  be  ill  bestowed.  "I 
sometimes  think  that  this  great  man  [Richelieu], 
who  by  his  admirable  wisdom  and  matchless  conduct 
of  affairs  is  so  renowned  on  earth,  is  preparing  for 
himself  a  dazzling  crown  of  glory  in  heaven  by  the 
care  he  evinces  for  the  conversion  of  so  many  lost 
infidel  souls  in  this  savage  land.  I  pray  affection- 
ately for  him  every  day,"  etc.^ 

For  Champlain,  too,  he  has  praises  which,  if  more 
measured,  are  at  least  as  siacere.  Indeed,  the  Father 
Superior  had  the  best  reason  to  be  pleased  with  the 
temporal  head  of  the  colony.  In  his  youth,  Cham- 
plain had  fought  on  the  side  of  that  more  liberal  and 
national  form  of  Romanism  of  wliich  the  Jesuits 
were  the  most  emphatic  antagonists.  Now,  as  Le 
Jeune  tells  us,  with  evident  contentment,  he  chose 
him,  the  Jesuit,  as  director  of  his  conscience.  In 
truth,  there  were  none  but  Jesuits  to  confess  and 
absolve  him;  for  the  R^collets,  prevented,  to  their 
deep  chagrin,  from  returning  to  the  missions  they 
had  founded,  were  seen  no  more  in  Canada,  and  the 
followers  of  Loyola  were  sole  masters  of  the  field. ^ 

1  Le  Jeune,  Relation,  1633,  26  (Quebec,  1858). 

*  Memoire  faict  en  1637  pour  I' Affaire  des  Peres  Recollectz  .  .  . 
touchant  le  Droit  qu'ils  ont  depuis  I'An  1615  d'aller  en  Quanada.     Me- 


1633.]  QUEBEC  A  MISSION.  279 

The  manly  heart  of  the  commandant,  earnest,  zealous, 
and  direct,  was  seldom  chary  of  its  confidence,  or  apt 
to  stand  too  warily  on  its  guard  in  presence  of  a  pro- 
found art  mingled  with  a  no  less  profound  sincerity. 

A  stranger  visiting  the  fort  of  Quebec  would  have 
been  astonished  at  its  air  of  conventual  decorum. 
Black  Jesuits  and  scarfed  officers  mingled  at  Cham- 
plain's  table.  There  was  little  conversation,  but,  in 
its  place,  histories  and  the  lives  of  saints  were  read 
aloud,  as  in  a  monastic  refectory.  ^  Prayers,  masses, 
and  confessions  followed  one  another  with  an  edify- 
ing regularity,  and  the  bell  of  the  adjacent  chapel, 
built  by  Champlain,  rang  morning,  noon,  and  night. 
Godless  soldiers  caught  the  infection,  and  whipped 
themselves  in  penance  for  their  sins.  Debauched 
artisans  outdid  each  other  in  the  fury  of  their  con- 
trition. Quebec  was  become  a  mission.  Indians 
gathered  thither  as  of  old,  not  from  the  baneful  lure 
of  brandy,  for  the  traffic  in  it  was  no  longer  tolerated, 
but  from  the  less  pernicious  attractions  of  gifts,  kind 
words,  and  politic  blandishments.  To  the  vital  prin- 
ciple of  propagandism  both  the  commercial  and  the 
military  character  were  subordinated ;  or,  to  speak 
more  justly,  trade,  policy,  and  military  power  leaned 
on  the  missions  as  their  main  support,  the  grand 
instrument  of  their  extension.  The  missions  were 
to  explore  the  interior ;  the  missions  were  to  win  over 

moire  instructif  contenant  la  Conduife  des  Peres  Recollects  de  Paris  en 
leur  Mission  de  Canada. 

1  Le  Jeune,  Relation,  1634,  2  (Quebec,  1858).    Compare  Da  Creux, 
Sistoria  Canadensis,  156. 


280  DEATH  OF  CHAMPLAIN.  [1635. 

the  savage  hordes  at  once  to  Heaven  and  to  France. 
Peaceful,  benign,  beneficent,  were  the  weapons  of 
this  conquest.  France  aimed  to  subdue,  not  by  the 
sword,  but  by  the  cross ;  not  to  overwhelm  and  crush 
the  nations  she  invaded,  but  to  convert,  civilize,  and 
embrace  them  among  her  children. 

And  who  were  the  instruments  and  the  promoters 
of  this  proselytism,  at  once  so  devout  and  so  politic  ? 
Who  can  answer?  Who  can  trace  out  the  crossing 
and  mingling  currents  of  wisdom  and  folly,  ignorance 
and  knowledge,  truth  and  falsehood,  weakness  and 
force,  the  noble  and  the  base,  —  can  analyze  a  syste- 
matized contradiction,  and  follow  through  its  secret 
wheels,  springs,  and  levers  a  phenomenon  of  moral 
mechanism?  Who  can  define  the  Jesuits?  The 
story  of  their  missions  is  marvellous  as  a  tale  of 
chivalry,  or  legends  of  the  lives  of  saints.  For  many 
years,  it  was  the  history  of  New  France  and  of  the 
wild  communities  of  her  desert  empire. 

Two  years  passed.  The  mission  of  the  Hurons 
was  established,  and  here  the  indomitable  Br^beuf, 
with  a  band  worthy  of  him,  toiled  amid  miseries  and 
perils  as  fearful  as  ever  shook  the  constancy  of  man ; 
while  Champlain  at  Quebec,  in  a  life  uneventful,  yet 
harassing  and  laborious,  was  busied  in  the  round  of 
cares  which  his  post  involved. 

Christmas  day,  1635,  was  a  dark  day  in  the  annals 
of  New  France.  In  a  chamber  of  the  fort,  breathless 
and  cold,  lay  the  hardy  frame  which  war,  the  wilder- 
ness, and  the  sea  had  buffeted  so  long  in  vain.     After 


1635.]  HIS  CHARACTER.  281 

two  months  and  a  half  of  illness,  Champlain,  stridden 
with  paralysis,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight,  was  dead. 
His  last  cares  were  for  his  colony  and  the  succor  of 
its  suffering  families.  Jesuits,  officers,  soldiers, 
traders,  and  the  few  settlers  of  Quebec  followed  his 
remains  to  the  church;  Le  Jeune  pronounced  his 
eulogy,^  and  the  feeble  community  built  a  tomb  to 
his  honor.  2 

The  colony  could  ill  spare  him.  For  twenty- 
seven  years  he  had  labored  hard  and  ceaselessly  for 
its  welfare,  sacrificing  fortune,  repose,  and  domestic 
peace  to  a  cause  embraced  with  enthusiasm  and 
pursued  with  intrepid  persistency.  His  character 
belonged  partly  to  the  past,  partly  to  the  present. 
The  preux  chevalier^  the  crusader,  the  romance- 
loving  explorer,  the  curious,  knowledge-seeking  trav- 
eller, the  practical  navigator,  all  claimed  their  share 
in  him.  His  views,  though  far  beyond  those  of  the 
mean  spirits  around  him,  belonged  to  his  age  and  his 
creed.  He  was  less  statesman  than  soldier.  He 
leaned  to  the  most  direct  and  boldest  policy,  and 
one  of  his  last  acts  was  to  petition  Richelieu  for  men 
and  munitions  for  repressing  that  standing  menace  to 
the   colony,   the  Iroquois.  ^     His    dauntless   courage 

1  Le  Jeune,  Relation,  16.36,  56  (Quebec,  1858). 

2  Vimoiit,  Relation,  104.3,3  (Quebec,  1858).  A  supposed  discovery, 
in  1865,  of  the  bnrial-placo  of  Champlain,  produced  a  sharp  contro- 
versy at  Quebec.  Champlain  made  a  will,  leaving  4,000  livres,  with 
other  property,  to  the  Jesuits.  The  will  was  successfully  contested 
before  the  Parliament  of  Paris,  and  was  annulled  on  tiie  ground  of 
informality. 

8  Lellre  de  Champlain  an  Ministre,  15  Aoul,  1635. 


282  DEATH  OF  CHAMPLAIN.  [1635. 

wius  matched  by  an  unwearied  patience,  proved  by 
life-lonp  vexations,  and  not  wholly  subdued  even  by 
the  saintly  follies  of  his  wife.  He  is  charged  with 
credulity,  from  which  few  of  his  age  were  free,  and 
which  in  all  ages  has  been  the  foible  of  earnest  and 
generous  natures,  too  ardent  to  criticise,  and  too 
honorable  to  doubt  the  honor  of  others.  Perhaps  the 
heretic  might  have  liked  him  more  if  the  Jesuit  had 
liked  him  less.  The  adventurous  explorer  of  Lake 
Huron,  the  bold  invader  of  the  Iroquois,  befits  but 
indifferently  the  monastic  sobrieties  of  the  fort  of 
Quebec,  and  his  sombre  environment  of  priests. 
Yet  Champlain  was  no  formalist,  nor  was  his  an 
empty  zeal.  A  soldier  from  his  youth,  in  an  age  of 
unbridled  license,  his  life  had  answered  to  his  max- 
ims ;  and  when  a  generation  had  passed  after  his  visit 
to  the  Hurons,  their  elders  remembered  with  astonish- 
ment the  continence  of  the  great  French  war-chief. 

His  books  mark  the  man,  —  all  for  his  theme  and 
his  purpose,  nothing  for  himself.  Crude  in  style, 
full  of  the  superficial  errors  of  carelessness  and  haste, 
rarely  diffuse,  often  brief  to  a  fault,  they  bear  on 
every  page  the  palpable  impress  of  truth. 

With  the  life  of  the  faithful  soldier  closes  the 
opening  period  of  New  France.  Heroes  of  another 
stamp  succeed;  and  it  remains  to  tell  the  story  of 
their  devoted  lives,  their  faults,  follies,  and  virtues. 

END  OF  VOL.   n. 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


Abenakis  tribe,  the,  ii.  116. 

Acadia,  I3e  Moiits  petitious  for 
permission  to  colonize,  ii.  65 ; 
derivation  of  name,  ii.  65  ;  occu- 
pation of,  ii.  68-80 ;  I'outrin- 
court  and  Lescarbot  liead  expe- 
dition to,  ii.  82 ;  Poutrincourt 
determines  to  make  it  a  new 
France,  ii.  99  ;  ruin  of,  ii.  136- 
147;  French  still  keep  a  hold 
on,  ii.  147  ;  advantages  of  estab- 
lisiiing  fortified  j)osts  in.ii.  148; 
Sir  William  Alexander's  at- 
tempts to  colonize,  ii.  262. 

Adelautado  of  Florida,  the,  see 
Menendez  de.  Aciih,  Peiho. 

Adiron(hick  Indians,  the,  ii.  170. 

AdirDiuhnk  Mountains,  the,  ii.  30. 

Agnics  tribe,  the,  ii.  30. 

Alabama,  i.  15. 

Alava,  d',  i.  153. 

Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  proclaims 
all  America  the  exclusive  prop- 
erty of  Spain,  i.  19,  26  ;  Francis 
I.  ignores  bull  of,  ii.  22 ;  his 
action  repudiated  by  Pope  Paul 
v.,  ii.  213. 

Alexander,  Sir  William,  attempts 
to  colonize  Acadia,  ii,  262 ; 
builds  fort  on  Cape  Breton,  ii. 
271. 

Algiers,  beleaguered  by  Charles 
v.,  i.  23. 


Algouquin    tribe,  the,  ii.  .30,  64  ; 

ii.  162;    Champlaiu  joins  them 

against    the    Iroquois,    ii.    1C2- 

178  ;  broad  use  of  the  name,  ii 

201. 
Allen's  River,  ii.  93. 
Allumettea,  Isle  des,  ii.  201. 
Allumettes,  Lac  de.s,  ii.  202. 
Alplioiise,  Jean,  ii.  47,  76. 
Alva,  Duke  of,  Catherine  de  ^ledi- 

cis  influenced  by,  i.  101. 
Amboise,  Peace  of,  i.  49. 
America,  discovery  of,  i.  9.  19;  a 

region  of  wonder  and  mystery  to 

the  Spaniard,  i.  9,  35. 
American  civilization,  springs  of, 

i.  xcv. 
Anastasia  Maud,  i.  132,  141. 
Andastes  tribe,  the,  ii.  225. 
Anderson,  i.  91. 
Ann,  Cape,  ii   77. 
Annaj)olis  Harbor,  discovered  by 

l)e  Monts,  ii.  71. 
Annapolis  River,  the,  see  liijtiille 

Ricir  and  Ddujiltin  Rirer. 
AiKpictil,  ii.  37. 
Antarctic  France,  i.  27  ;  Sjiain  and 

Portugal  make  good  their  claim 

to,  i.  32. 
Anticosti.  Island  of,  ii.  21,  23,  52. 
Antonio,    Don,    offers     Gourgues 

commaml  of  fleet  against  Philip 

II.,  i.  178. 


286 


INDEX. 


Appalache,  mysterious  mountains 
of,  i.  78. 

Ajjpalaclio,  village  of,  i.  12. 

Api)alathic()la,  i.  12. 

Aipiaviva,  Claude,  ii.  112,  144. 

Arainboc,  ii.  38. 

Archer's  Creek,  i.  41. 

Arciuiega,  Sancho  de,  commis- 
sioned to  join  Meneudez,  i.  105. 

Argall,  Capt.  Samuel,  arrives  at 
Jamestown,  ii.  130 ;  abducts 
Pocahontas,  ii.  130  ;  .sails  to  ex- 
pel the  French  from  coast  of 
Maine,  ii.  131  ;  attacks  and  de- 
feats La  Saussaye,  ii.  132  ;  in- 
terview with  La  Saussaye,  ii. 
133 ;  saves  his  prisoners  from 
the  wratli  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale, 
ii.  137 ;  commands  a  new  expe- 
dition, ii.  138  ;  demolishes  Port 
Royal,  ii.  139;  interview  with 
Biencourt,  ii.  141  ;  returns  to 
Virginia,  ii.  142  ;  becomes  Dep- 
uty-Governor of  Virginia,  ii. 
146 ;  knighted  by  King  James, 
ii.  147. 

Arkansas  River,  the,  i.  1.5. 

Arlac,  Sergeant,  i.  65  ;  remains  to 
fight  battles  of  chief  Outiua,  i. 
66 ;  victory  over  warriors  of 
King  Potanou,  i.  67 ;  fidelity 
to  Laudonniere,  i.  72  ;  disarmed 
by  mutineers,  i.  73 ;  attacked 
by  the  Indians,  i.  87  ;  embarks 
against  the  Spani-sh,  i.  116. 

Armouchiquois  Indians,  the,  ii. 
77 ;  Chief  Membertou's  hatred 
for,  ii.  96. 

Aspinwall,  Col.  Thomas,  ii.  5. 

Asticou,  Chief,  ii.  127,  128. 
Astina,  Chief,  i.  83. 
Asturias,  knights  of,  i.  104. 
Athore,  sou  of  Chief  Satouriona,  i. 

65. 
Aubert,  of  Dieppe,  ii.  13. 


Aubigne,  d',  i.  5, 
Auhry,  Nicolas,  ii.  70,  72. 
Audubon,  J.  J.,  i.  59. 
Audusta,  Chief,  i.  42. 
Avezac,  M.  d',  ii.  37. 
Ayllon,  Va.squez  de,  voyages  and 
discoveries  of,  i.  11,  39. 

Baccalaos,  ii.  10. 
Bacchus,  the  Island  of,  ii.  24. 
Bahama  Channel,  the,  i.  108,  162. 
Bahama  Islands,  fhe,  i.  10. 
Bailleul,  ii.  132. 
Balsam  Lake,  ii.  229. 
Balthazar,  Christophe,  ii.  112. 
Bancroft,  George,  i.  7,  160. 
Barcia    (Cardenas  y  Cano),   i.  5, 
11,  13,  19,  70,  99,  100,  105,  109, 
112,  113, 119,  122,  123,  128,  132, 
147,  151,  158,  160,  162,  165,  172, 
179;  ii.  20. 
Barre,    Nicolas,    in   command   of 

the  Coligny  colonists,  i.  44. 
Bartrams,  the,  i.  59. 
Basanier,  i.  40,  47,  50,  53,  94,  114, 

160,  165,  168. 
Basques,   the,    ii.    9 ;  brisk    trade 
with  the  Indians,  ii.  151  ;  con- 
flict   with    Pontgrave,    ii.    152 ; 
make  peace  with  Pontgrave,  ii. 
152;  plot  to    place    Quebec  in 
the  hands  of,  ii.  156. 
Bauldre,  Fran9ois  de,  ii.  57. 
Baumgartens,  ii.  10. 
Bayard,  Le   Chevalier,   death  of, 

ii.  19. 
Bazares,  Gnido  de  las,  sails  to  ex- 
plore Florida  coasts,  i.  18. 
Beauchamp,  Rev.  W.  M.,  ii.  231. 
Beaufort,  Duchesse  de,  ii.  108. 
Beaufort  River,  the,  i.  40. 
Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  i.  41. 
Beaumont,  at  St.  Croix,  ii.  74. 
Beauport  (Gloucester,  Mass.),  ii 
77. 


INDEX. 


287 


Beaupre,  Vicomte  de,  ii.  42. 

Belknap,  ii.  43,  147. 

Belle  Isle,  Straits  of,  ii.  12. 

Belleforest,  derivation  of  the  name 
of  Canada,  ii.  23 ;  reality  of 
Verrazzano's  voyage,  ii.  50, 

Beloeil,  cliffs  of,  ii.  166. 

Benin,  negroes  of,  i.  160. 

Ber2:eron,  ii.  10,  13. 

Berjon,  Jean,  ii.  74. 

Berthelot,  M.,  ii.  25,  27. 

Berthier,  ii.  154. 

Beteta,  i.  18. 

Beverly,  ii.  147. 

Beza,  Theodore,  i.  49. 

Biard,  Pierre,  the  Jesuit,  ii.  4,  10; 
named  to  join  Poutrincourt's 
Acadian  expedition,  ii.  100  ;  left 
behind  by  Poutrincourt,  ii.  101, 
110;  sails  for  Acadia,  ii.  HI  ; 
friction  with  Poutrincourt,  ii. 
114  ;  difficult}-  with  the  Micmac 
language,  ii.  1 18  ;  studies  among 
the  Indians,  ii.  119  ;  controversy 
with  Biencourt,  ii.  122,  123;  a 
truce,  ii.  123 ;  relieved  by  La 
Saussaye,  ii.  125 ;  at  Mount 
Desert,  ii.  127  ;  attacked  by  the 
English,  ii.  132  ;  experiences  of 
captives  under  Captain  Argall, 
ii.  136 ;  accompanies  Captain 
Argall  on  another  expedition, 
ii.  138;  destruction  of  Port 
Royal,  ii.  139;  accused  by 
Poutrincourt  of  treachery,  ii. 
139,  140;  returns  liome,  ii.  146. 

Biddle,  ii.  20. 

Biedma,  i.  16,  17. 

Biencourt,  Vice-Admiral,  son  of 
Poutrincourt,  ii.  103,  104;  gains 
audience  of  Marie  de  Medicis, 
ii.  105,  110;  returns  to  Acadia, 
ii.  112;  left  in  ciiarge  at  I'ort 
Royal,  ii.  115;  takes  young 
Pontgrave    prisoner,    ii.     115; 


meeting  with  the  Armouchi- 
quois  ludiaus,  ii.  116;  discord 
and  misery,  ii.  119;  succor 
from  France,  ii.  121  ;  contro- 
versy with  the  Jesuits,  ii.  122; 
a  truce,  ii.  123;  among  the 
Indians,  ii.  139  ;  interview  with 
Captain  Argall,  ii.  141  ;  par- 
tially rebuilds  Port  Royal,  ii. 
147  ;  advantages  of  establishing 
fortified  posts  in  Acadia,  ii. 
148. 

Bimini,  Island  of,  fountain  of 
eternal  youth  said  to  be  upon,  i. 
10,  11. 

Biscay,  knights  of,  i.  104. 

"  Black  drink,"  the,  Indian  belief 
in  the  properties  of,  i.  167. 

Black,  Hon.  Henry,  i.  xcix. 

Blanc,  Cap,  ii.  78. 

Block  Island,  ii.  17. 

Bois-Lecomte,  expedition  to  the 
New  World,  i.  27. 

Borgia,  General,  i.  179. 

Borgne,  Isle  du,  ii.  201. 

Boston  Harbor,  ii.  77. 

Bouchette,  ii.  153. 

Boulay,  ii.  74. 

Bourbon,  Charles  de,  see  Soissons, 
Comte  de. 

Bourbon,  Henri  de,  see  Condi, 
Prince  de. 

Bonrdelais,  Francois,  i.  168. 

Bourdet,  Captain,  i.  70. 

Brant  Point,  ii.  78. 

Brantome,  i.  5 ;  ii.  20,  37. 

Brazil,  i.  26,  28,  29. 

Brebeuf,  .lean  de,  the  Jesuit,  ii.  4, 
173,  238;  attempts  to  convert 
the  Hurons,  ii.  253,  270,  276,  280. 

Brest,  Governor  of,  feud  with 
^'illegagnon,  i.  25. 

"  Breton,"  the,  i.  83. 

Breton,  Cape,  name  of,  ii.  10;  ii 
271. 


288 


INDEX. 


IJretoM,  Christophe  le,  escape  from 
Lutdiery  of  Meuendez,  i.  145, 
147. 

Bretons,  the,  ii.  9. 

Brcvoort,  J.  Carson,  ii.  50. 

Uriet,  Padre  Felipe,  i.  137. 

Brinton,  i.  80. 

Briou-Chabot,  I'hilippe  de,  con- 
ceives  the  purpose  of  planting 
colony  in  America,  ii.  20. 

Brissac,  the  Mare'chal  de,  ii.  195. 

Broad  River,  i.  .39. 

Brown,  John  Carter,  ii.  5. 

Brule,  Etienne,  ii.  221,  226,  228; 
adventures  of,  ii.  234-2.37  ;  mur- 
dered by  the  Hnrons,  ii.  237. 

Bry,  De,  i.  28,  35,  50,  147,  167. 

Bryinner,  ii.  273. 

Bnckingham,  Duke  of,  ii.  261. 

Burke,  i.  91. 

Byng  Inlet,  ii.  223. 

C.^BOT,  Seba.stiau,  discoveries  of, 
i.  19,  ii.  9. 

Caen,  i<]mery  de,  trade  of  New 
France,  conferred  by  the  Due 
de  Montmorency  on,  ii.  251 ; 
"  heresy  "  of,  ii.  254 ;  hatred  of 
tlie  Jesuits,  ii.  254 ;  success  in 
the  fur-trade,  ii.  255  ;  privileges 
annulled  by  Richelieu,  ii.  258 ; 
reclaims  Quebec  from  the  Fng- 
lisii,  ii.  274,  276. 

Caen,  William  de,  trade  of  New 
France  conferred  by  the  Due 
de  Montmorency  on,  ii.  251  ; 
success  in  tlie  fur-trade,  ii.  255  ; 
privileges  annulled  by  Riche- 
lieu, ii.  258. 

Cahiaguc,  the  Huron  metropolis, 
ii.  227,  241,  242,  243. 

Calibogue  Sound,  i.  43. 

Callicres,  Point,  ii.  188. 

Caloosa.  River,  the,  i.  79. 

Calos,  King  of,  i.  79. 


Calumet,  the,  Rapids  of,  ii.  210. 

Calvin,  John,  Huguenots  gather 
around,  i.  21 ;  pronounced  by 
Villegagnon  a  "  frightful  here- 
tic," i.  30,  31  ;  Villegagnon's 
hot  controversy  with,  i.  32 ;  his 
heresy  infecting  France,  ii.  22. 

Calvinism,  Rochelle  the  centre 
and  citadel  of,  ii.  83. 

Calviuistic  churches,  fast  gaining 
strength,  i.  23. 

Canada,  i.  19  ;  country  embraced 
by  the  name  of,  ii.  23;  deriva- 
tion of  the  name,  ii.  23. 

Canaveral,  Cape,  i.  79,  133,  149. 

Cancello,  efforts  to  convert  the 
natives,  i.  17  ;  murdered,  i.  18. 

Canseau,  ii.  97. 

Cap  Rouge,  the  River  of,  Cartier 
lands  at  mouth  of,  ii.  42  ;  Ro- 
berval  casts  anchor  before,  ii.  47. 

Carantouans,  the,  ii.  228. 

Carayon,  Auguste,  ii.  112,  123, 
138,  144,  253. 

Carhagouha,  ii.  225,  241. 

Caribou,  the.  Rapids  of,  ii.  221. 

Carillon,  Rapids  of,  ii.  196. 

Carli,  Fernando,  ii.  49. 

Carmaron,  ii.  225. 

Caro,  Annibal,  ii.  50. 

Caroline,  Fort,  i.  56,  60 ;  discon- 
tent in,  i.  68 ;  famine  and  des- 
peration at,  i.  89  ;  defenceless 
condition  of,  i.  117;  attacked 
by  the  Spanish,  i.  119-125;  the 
massacre,  i.  126-128;  the  fugi- 
tives, i.  128-130;  repaired,  i. 
162.     See  also  San  Mateo,  Fort. 

Cartier,  Jacques,  efforts  to  plant 
colony  in  Spanish  Florida,  i.  19, 
ii.  10;  most  eminent  in  St.  Malo, 
ii.  21  ;  sails  for  Newfoundland, 
ii.  21  ;  voyage  a  mere  reconnois- 
sance,  ii.  21  ;  receives  second 
commission  from  Chabot,  ii.  22 ; 


INDEX. 


289 


sets  out  on  second  expedition,  ii. 
22 ;  reaches  the  St.  Lawrence 
River,  ii.  23;  meeting  with  tiie 
Indians,  ii.  24;  visit  to  Chief 
Donuacona,  ii.  25,  26 ;  resolves 
to  go  to  Hochelaga,  ii.  26 ; 
warned  by  the  Indians  to  desi.st, 
ii.  27  ;  sets  out  for  Iloclielaga, 
ii.  28  ;  reception  hy  the  natives, 
ii.  31-33 ;  farewell  to  Iloclie- 
laga, ii.  33  ;  readies  Quehec,  ii. 
33 ;  expedition  alilicteil  with 
scurvy,  ii.  34 ;  fort  of,  ii.  34 ; 
waning  friendshij)  of  the  In- 
dians, i.  34 ;  takes  Donnacona 
and  his  chiefs  forcibly  on 
board  ship,  ii.  36 ;  sails  for 
France,  ii.  36 ;  appointed  Cap- 
tain-General of  a  new  expedi- 
tion, ii.  38 ;  again  sets  sail  for 
the  New  World,  ii.  41  ;  again 
reaches  Quebec,  ii.  41  ;  sails  up 
the  St.  Lawrence  Kiver,  ii.  42 ; 
lands  at  mouth  of  the  River  of 
Cap  Rouge,  ii.  42 ;  explores 
rapids  above  Hochelaga,  ii.  42 ; 
abandons  New  France  before 
Roberval's  arrival,  ii.  43 ;  or- 
dered to  return  but  escapes,  ii. 
43;  later  life  of,  ii.  44;  ii.  1 76. 

Casco  Bay,  ii.  76. 

Catliay,  kingdom  of,  Verrazzano 
despatched  by  Francis  I.  to  find 
westward  ))assage  to,  ii.  14. 

Cazenove,  Lieutenant,  i.  171. 

Chabot,  ii.  21  ;  gives  Cartier  a 
second  coTninission,  ii.  22 ;  in 
disgrace,  ii.  37. 

Clialeurs,  the,  Gulf  of,  Cartier 
enters,  ii.  21. 

Challeux,  i.  4,  112,  113;  escape 
from  the  massacre  of  Fort  Car- 
oline, i.  124,  125,  127,  129;  i.  133, 
145,  146. 

Chalmers,  ii.  43. 
VOL.    II.  —  ID 


Chambly,  Basin  of,  ii.  166. 

Chamtdy  Kiver,  the,  ii.  166. 

Chaiiipdore',  ii.  72,  80. 

(Jhamplain,  Madame  de,  among 
tlie  Indians  at  Quebec,  ii.  249 ; 
later  history  of,  ii.  250. 

Chamj)lain,  Samuel  de,  i.  5 ;  fore- 
most in  forest  chivalry,  i.  181  ; 
the  Father  of  New  France,  ii. 
3 ;  writings  of,  ii.  3 ;  otlier 
autliorities  concerning,  ii.  4 ; 
map  of  Quebec,  ii.  25 ;  finds 
remains  of  Cartier's  fort,  ii.  34 ; 
sterling  merits  of,  ii.  59;  visits 
tiie  West  Indies  and  Mexico,  ii. 
59-61  ;  liis  journal,  ii.  60 ;  er- 
ratic character  of  some  of  his 
exploits,  ii.  61  ;  accepts  post  in 
De  Cliastes'  expedition  to  New 
France,  ii.  64 ;  expedition  sets 
sail,  ii.  64 ;  explores  the  St. 
Lawrence  River,  ii.  64  ;  tries  to 
pass  rapids  of  St.  Louis,  ii.  64  ; 
return  to  France,  ii.  65 ;  im- 
portant cliarts  made  by,  ii.  71  ; 
discovers  St.  Croix,  ii.  71  ; 
Mount  Desert  visited  and  named 
by,  ii.  76  ;  on  the  coast  of  New 
England,  ii.  76-78  ;  trouble  with 
the  Indians,  ii.  78 ;  undertakes 
a  voyage  of  discovery  with  Fou- 
triiicourt,  ii.  87  ;  failure,  ii.  88 ; 
return  to  Port  Royal,  ii.  89 ; 
"  L'Ordre  de  Bon-Temps,"  ii.  91 ; 
life  at  Port  Royal,  ii.  92,  93  ; 
evil  tidings,  ii.  94  ;  Port  Royal 
must  be  abandoned,  ii.  95  ;  .sails 
for  France,  ii.  97 ;  radical  de- 
fect in  scheme  of  settlement,  ii. 
98 ;  kindly  relations  with  the 
Indians,  ii.  98  ;  embarks  on  a 
new  enterpri.se  to  the  New 
World,  ii.  149;  views  of  col- 
onization, ii.  150;  lays  the 
fou'idatious  of  Quebec,  ii.  155; 


2!tO 


INDEX. 


conspiracy  rovoaled  to,  ii.  156; 
wiiiUir  siil'foriiigs  ;it  Quel)ec,  ii. 
IfiO;  return  of  roiitgravc,  ii. 
161  ;  hopes  of  finding  a  way  to 
China,  ii.  161  ;  joins  tiie  Hurons 
and  AIgon((uiiis  against  the 
Iro(iuois,  ii.  162-178;  victory 
over  tiie  Iro(|Uois,  ii.  175  ;  dispo- 
sition of  the  prisoners,  ii.  176; 
return  to  Quebec,  ii.  177;  re- 
turns to  France,  ii.  179  ;  relates 
his  adventures  to  tlie  King  at 
Foiitainehh'au,  ii.  179;  violent 
iUness  of,  ii.  179  ;  again  sets  sail 
for  the  New  World,  ii.  180  ;  ad- 
vantages of  alliance  with  the 
Montaguais  and  the  Hurons, 
ii.  180  ;  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  ii. 
180;  war  with  the  Iro([uois, 
ii.  181-185;  returns  to  France, 
ii.  186;  encounters  icebergs,  ii. 
187  ;  returns  to  Tadoussac,  ii. 
187  ;  lays  the  foundations  for 
Montreal,  ii.  188;  trading  with 
the  Hurons,  ii.  188,  189;  taken 
down  the  rapids  of  St.  Louis, 
ii.  189  ;  in  France  again,  ii.  190 ; 
gains  the  protection  of  the 
Comte  de  Soissons,  ii.  190;  T)e 
Soissons  confers  vice-regal  pow- 
ers in  New  France  upon,  ii.  191  ; 
tlie  life  of  New  France  alone  in, 
ii.  192  ;  his  two  great  objects, 
ii.  192;  efforts  to  establish  a 
trading  company,  ii.  192;  de- 
ceived by  Vignau,  ii.  1 95  ;  has- 
tens to  follow  up  Vignau's 
reported  discoveries,  ii.  195 ; 
difficulties  of  the  journey,  ii. 
196-202  ;  amazement  of  the  na- 
tives, ii.  202 ;  Chief  Tessouat 
gives  a  feast  in  honor  of,  ii.  203, 
204 ;  asks  for  canoes  and  men 
to  visit  the  Nipissings,  ii.  205; 
Tessouat  refuses,   ii.   206 ;   Vi- 


gnau's falsehoods  disclosed,  ii. 
207-209 ;  return  to  Montreal, 
ii.  210;  clemency  to  Vignau,  ii. 
211;  religious  zeal  of,  ii.  212; 
takes  four  of  the  llecoUet  Friars 
to  New  France,  to  convert  the 
Indians,  ii.  215  ;  on  the  track  of 
Le  Caron,  ii.  221  ;  at  Lake  Nip- 
issing,  ii.  222 ;  discovery  of  Lake 
Huron,  ii.  223 ;  regarded  by  the 
Hurons  as  their  champion,  ii. 
225 ;  meeting  with  Le  Caron,  ii. 
225 ;  the  first  mass,  ii.  22G  ;  sets 
out  on  tour  of  observation,  ii. 
227  ;  on  Lake  Ontario,  ii.  229  ; 
attack  on  the  Iroquois,  ii.  232 ; 
wounded,  ii.  233  ;  loses  prestige 
with  the  Indians,  ii.  234 ;  forced 
to  winter  with  the  Hurons,  ii. 
234 ;  lost  in  the  forest,  ii.  239  ; 
made  umpire  of  Indian  quarrels, 
ii.  243  ;  returns  to  Quebec,  ii. 
244;  forced  to  rebuild  at  Que- 
bec, ii.  245  ;  his  difficulties  at 
Quebec,  ii.  247 ;  his  efforts  in 
behalf  of  the  trading  company, 
ii.  248,  249  ;  brings  Madame  de 
Champlain  to  Quebec,  ii.  249 ; 
a  new  monopoly,  ii.  251  ;  arrival 
of  Jesuits,  ii.  253  ;  the  Company 
of  New  France,  ii.  258-260  ;  re- 
fuses to  surrender  Quebec  to 
Kirke,  ii.  264  ;  forced  to  capitu- 
late, ii.  267 ;  his  character  that 
of  tlie  Middle  Age  rather  than 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  ii. 
276 ;  resumes  command  at  Que- 
bec, ii.  277  ;  death  of,  ii.  281  ; 
severity  of  his  loss  to  the  colony, 
ii.  281  ;  estimate  of,  ii.  281,  282. 

Charavay,  ii.  249. 

Chareute  River,  the,  i.  39. 

Charles  I.  of  England,  aids  the 
rebels  in  France,  ii.  261  ;  re- 
stores New  France  to  the  French 


INDEX. 


291 


Crown,  ii.  272 ;  lettor  to  Sir 
Isaac  Wake  coucerning  restora- 
tiou  of  New  France  to  the 
French  Crown,  ii.  272. 

Charles  V.,  beleaguers  Algiers,  i. 
23;  ii.  37. 

Charles  VIII.,  ii.  13. 

Charles  IX.,  i.  41 ;  helpless  amid 
storm  of  factious,  i.  49 ;  i.  56, 
101  ;  petition  for  redress  against 
Spain,  to,  i.  147;  demauds  re- 
dress from  Spain  for  massacres 
in  Florida,  i.  153;  claims  dis- 
covery of  Florida  prior  to  Co- 
lumbus, i.  153;  ii.  10;  demands 
that  Menendez  be  punished  for 
massacres  in  Florida,  i.  155,  156  ; 
refu.sed  redress,  and  submits, 
i.  157  ;  fast  subsiding  into  the 
deathly  eml)race  of  Spain,  i.  157. 

Charlesbourg-Royal,  ii.  43. 

Charlesfort,  i.  41. 

Charles  River,  the,  ii.  77. 

Charlevoix,  Pierre  Francois  Xavier 
de,  i.  5,  101,  128,  158,  162,  168, 
171  ;  ii.  25,34,  55,  56,  110,  154, 
173,  205,  259,  267,  271. 

Charnock,  i.  104. 

Chastes,  Aymar  de,  ii.  61,  62; 
fidelity  to  the  King,  ii.  62 ;  rea- 
son and  patriotism  his  watch- 
word, ii.  62  ;  receives  ])atent  for 
expedition  to  New  France,  ii. 
63  ;  death  of,  ii.  65. 

Cliatliaiu  Harbor,  ii.  87. 

Cbatillou,  ii.  50. 

Chatoii,  Kstienne,  ii.  53. 

Chats,  P\alls  of  the,  ii.  198. 

Chaudiere,  the,  cataracts  of,  ii. 
197. 

Chaudibre,  Lake  of  tlie,  ii.  198. 

Chauveton,  i.  147. 

Chauvin,  Captain,  plans  for  fur- 
trading,  ii.  57  ;  sets  out  on  enter- 
prise, ii.  58 ;  death  of,  ii.  63. 


Chauvin,  Pierre,  left  in  charge  at 
Quebec,  ii.  179. 

Chefdhotel,  despatched  to  bring 
convicts  back  from  Sable  Island  ; 
ii.  56 ;  robs  the  convicts,  but  ia 
forced  to  disgorge,  ii.  56. 

Chenonceau  Kiver,  the,  i.  41. 

Cliesapeake  Bay,  i.  103  ;  RIenendez 
urges  immediate  Spanish  occu 
])ation  of,  i.  149. 

Chevalier,  ii.  94. 

"  Cheveux  Heleves,"  the,  ii.  242. 

Chioora,  i.39. 

China,  hopes  of  Champlain  to  find 
a  way  to,  ii.  161. 

Choisy,  I'Abbe'  de,  ii.  108. 

Cibola,  wonderful  land  of,  i.  38. 

Clark,  Gen.  Jolm  S.,  ii.  231. 

Cod,  Cape,  ii.  78. 

Cohasset,  shores  of,  ii.  78. 

Cointac,  i.  29,  30. 

Colden,  ii.  30. 

Coligny,  Fort,  i.  28. 

Coliguy,  Caspar  de,  effort  to  build 
up  a  Calvinist  France  in  Amer- 
ica, i.  3  ;  admiral  of  France,  i. 
22  ;  a  tower  of  trust,  i.  23,  30 ; 
representative  and  leader  of 
Protestantism  of  France,  i.  34  ; 
plans  second  Huguenot  colony 
to  the  New  World,  i.  34 ; 
the  Puritans  compared  to  colo- 
nists of,  i.  35  ;  again  strong  at 
Court,  i.  49;  requires  Laudon- 
nicre  to  resign  his  command,  i. 
94  ;  Pliilij)  II.  demands  his  ])un- 
isliment  for  planting  French 
colony  in  Florida,  i.  154  ;  wan- 
ing power  of,  i.  157. 

Colombo,  Don  Francisco,  ii.  60. 

Columbus,  discoveries  of,  i.  9, 19. 

Company  of  Now  France,  the, 
formed  by  Riclielien,  ii.  258 ; 
territory  conferred  on,  ii.  258  ; 
powers  granted  to,  ii.  258 ;    re- 


292 


INDEX. 


qiiireinents  of,  ii.  259  ;  the  Kiug 
heaps  favors  upou,  ii.  260  ;  gives 
succor  to  Quebec,  ii.  :iGl. 
Conde,  of  the  civil  wars,  ii.  191. 
Conde,  Priuce  de,  i.  22  ;  a,spires  to 
tlie  Crowu,  i.  34  ;  varying  popu- 
larity of,  i.  49  ;  assumes  protec- 
torship of  New  Frauce,  ii.  191 ; 
history  of,  ii.  191,  192;  impris- 
ouineut  of,  ii.  249  ;  the  Due  de 
Montmorency  purchases  the 
lieutenancy  of  New  France  from, 
ii.  249. 

Conde',  the  great,  victor  at  Rocroy, 
ii.  191. 

Cordner,  Rev.  John,  ii.  5. 

Corouado,  i.  15. 

Cortes,  Hernando,  conquers  Mex- 
ico, i.  11. 

Cosette,  Captain,  i.  114. 

Costa,  Mr.  de,  ii.  50. 

Coton,  Father,  confessor  to  Henry 
IV.,  ii.  99  ;  urges  the  King  to 
attach  some  Jesuits  to  Poutrin- 
court'a  expedition  to  Acadia,  ii. 
100. 

Condouaguy,  the  god,  ii.  27. 

Couexis,  Kiug,  i.  43. 

Council  of  the  Indies,  the,  ii.  40. 

Cousin,  said  by  the  French  to  be 
the  discoverer  of  America,  ii.  8. 

Crow  Indians,  the,  ii.  168,  169. 

Crown  Point,  ii.  172. 

Cul)a,  i.  10,  11. 

Cumberland  Head,  ii.  170. 

Cuuat,  Charles,  ii.  39. 

Dacotah,  the,  remoter  bands  of, 
ii.  204. 

Dale,  Sir  Thomas,  Governor  of 
Virginia,  ii.  131  ;  commissions 
Captain  ArgaU  to  expel  the 
French  from  the  coast  of  Maine, 
ii.  131  ;  wrath  against  Captain 
Argall's  prisoners,  ii.  137. 


Daniel,  Captain,  exploit  of,  ii.  271. 

"  Dauphiue,"  the,  ii.  15. 

Davila,  i.  97. 

Dawson,  Doctor,  ii.  30,  65. 

Debre,  Pierre,  i.  165,  168. 

De   Chastes,  Commander  de,  see 

Chastes,  Aymar  de. 
De  Choisv,  the  Abbe,  see  Choisy, 

VAbbe  de. 
Deffiat,  Marechal,  ii.  258. 
Delaborde,  i.  35,  49. 
De  Monts,  Sieur,  see  Guast,  Pierre 

du. 
Denis  of  Honfleur,  explores  the 

Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  ii.  13. 
Desdames,  ii.  264. 
Desimoni,  Signor,  ii.  50. 
De  Soto,  Hernando,  see  Soto,  Her- 
nando de. 
Des  Prairies,  ii.  183. 
Deux  Rivieres,  the,  ii.  221. 
Diamond,  Cape,  ii.  155. 
Dionondadies,  the,  ii.  242. 
Dolbeau,   Jean,   ii.    215;    experi- 
ences among  the  Indians,  ii.  216. 
Dolphins,  the,  River  of,  i.  50,  113. 
Donuacoua,  Chief,  ii.  25  ;  Cartier's 
visit  to,  ii.  25,  26  ;  forcibly  taken 
on  board  Cartier's  ship,  ii.  36 ; 
baptized,  ii.  39  ;  death  of,  ii.  39. 
Dry  Mountain,  ii.  126. 
Du  Creux,  ii.  279. 
Du  Jardin,  ii.  111. 
Du  Pare,  in  command  at  Quebec, 

ii.  187,  210. 
Du  Plessis,  Pacifique,  ii.  215. 
Dupont,  war-ships  of,  i.  39. 
Du  Quesne,  ii.  111. 
Durantal  (Darontal),  Chief,  ii.  234, 
240  ;  goes  to  Quebec  with  Cham- 
plain,  ii.  244. 
Dutch,  tlie,  find  their  way  to  the 

St.  Lawrence  River,  ii.  94. 
Du  Thet,  Gilbert,  arrived  in  Aca- 
dia, ii.  122  ;  returns  to  France,  ii. 


INDEX. 


293 


1 23 ;  again  sails  for  Acadia,  ii. 
125;  death  of,  ii.  132. 
Duval,  plot  to  kill  Champlain  and 
deliver  Quebec  to  the  Basques 
and  Spaniards,  ii.  157;  arrested 
and  executed,  ii.  157,  158. 

Edelano,  island  of,  i.  79. 
Edeu,  ii.  8,  10. 
Eliot,  Charles,  ii.  79. 
Eliot,  Charles  W.,  ii.  79. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  i.  47. 
England,  Florida  claimed  by,  i.  19  ; 

relinquishes  Quebec,  ii.  276. 
English    colonization,     compared 

with  French  colonization,  ii.  217. 
Entragues,  Henriette  d',  see   Ver- 

nenil,  Marquise  dc. 
;fcquille  River,  the,  ii.  80  ;  explored 

by  Lescarbot,  ii.  89. 
Erics,  the,  ii.  225. 
Espiritu  Santo,  Bay  of,  i.  14,  17. 
E.'squimaux,  the,  ii.  216. 
Estancelin,  ii.  8,  10, 13. 
Etechemins,  the,  ii.  77. 
Etechemins,  la  Riviere  des,  ii.  71. 
Eternal  youth,  fountain  of,  i.  10. 
Europe,  Spain  the   incubus  of,  i. 

20. 

Fairbairn,  i.  91. 

Faribault,  G.  B.,  ii.  5,  11,  25,  34, 
35,  156. 

Farrar,  Capt.  Constance,  ii.  272. 

Fayal,  ii.  144. 

Fenner,  tovro  of,  ii.  231. 

Feret,  M.,  ii.  61. 

Fernald,  Mr.,  ii.  128. 

Feruandina,  i.  39. 

Ferriere,  La  Roche,  sent  as  emis- 
sary to  distant  tribes,  i.  78. 

Fiche,  Isle  de,  ii.  12. 

Fichet,  Isle,  ii.  12. 

Fisher,  ii.  25. 


Fishot  Island,  ii.  12. 

Five  Confederate  Nations,  the,  ii. 
162. 

Fleury,  Capt.  Charles,  ii.  125, 127, 
1.33,  146. 

Florida,  knowledge  of  localities 
connected  with  French  occu- 
pancy of,  i,  Ixxxvii ;  political 
and  religious  enmities,  i.  3 ; 
Huguenot  occupation  of,  i.  3  ; 
authorities  for,  i.  3  ;  Ponce  de 
Leon  explores  and  names,  i.  11  ; 
Ponce  de  Leon  attempts  to  plant 
colony  in,  i.  11  ;  coa.st  outline 
becomes  better  known  to  Span- 
iards, i.  1 1  ;  expedition  of  Nar- 
vaez  to,  i.  1 2  ;  De  Soto  plans  to 
conquer,  i.  13;  Cabeza  de  Vaca 
makes  false  statements  concern- 
ing, i.  13  ;  plan  for  colonization 
of,  i.  18  ;  territory  eml)raced  by 
name  of,  i.  19  ;  rival  claims  to, 
i.  19;  second  Huguenot  expedi- 
tion to,  i.  33;  Laudonniure's  ex- 
pedition to,  i.  48 ;  coveted  by  Sir 
John  Hawkins  for  England,  i. 
92 ;  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  in, 
i.  95 ;  Menendez  commissioned 
to  conquer,  i.  100;  Menendez 
takes  formal  possession  of,  i. 
113;  French  and  Spanish  claims 
concerning  discovery  of,  i.  153; 
Gourgues  lands  in,  i.  164  ;  aban- 
doned by  tlie  Jesuits  in  disgust, 
i.  179. 

Folsom,  Charles,  i.  c. 

Fontanedo,  i.  11. 

Forqucvaulx,  Sieur  de,  i.  154;  de- 
mands redress  for  France  from 
Si)ain  for  massacres  in  Florida, 
i.  155,  156. 

Forster,  ii.  10,  43. 

Fort  George  Island,  i.  163, 

Foucher,  ii.  263. 

Fougeray,  ii.  74. 


294 


INDEX. 


Foiirnpanx,  overpowprs  Lauflon- 
nicre  during  illness,  i.  72  ;  com- 
pels J>nu(lonnierc  to  sign  com- 
mission for  West  India  cruise,  i. 
73 ;  fortunes  of  the  expedition, 
i.  75 ;  captured  by  La  Oaille,  i. 
75  ;  court-martialled  and  shot,  i. 
76,  77. 

Francaise,  la  Baye,  ii.  70. 

France,  Florida  claimed  by,  i.  19; 
Spanish  jealou.sy  of,  i.  19;  vi- 
tality of,  i.  21  ;  corruption  and 
intrigue  run  riot  in,  i.  22 ;  Hu- 
guenot influence  in  colonizing 
the  New  World,  i.  27 ;  gliding 
towards  religious  wars,  i.  33 ; 
trembling  between  the  Catholics 
and  the  Huguenots,  i.  101  ;  in- 
dignation over  the  Spanish  mas- 
sacres in  Florida,  i.  145;  the 
true  pioneer  of  the  Great  We.st, 
i.  181 ;  peculiar  part  assumed  on 
borders  of  the  New  World,  ii. 
7  ;  claims  discovery  of  America, 
ii.  7,  8  ;  vitality  wasted  in  Italian 
wars,  ii.  13  ;  defeat  in  Italy,  ii. 
19;  loss  of  Milan,  ii.  19  ;  death 
of  Bayard,  ii.  19;  invasion  of 
Provence,  ii.  19;  captivity  of 
Francis  I.,  ii.  19  ;  heresy  of  Cal- 
vin infecting,  ii.  22  ;  Spain  jeal- 
ously guards  America  from  the 
encroachments  of,  ii.  39-41  ; 
plunged  into  fratricidal  war,  ii. 
51  ;  advent  of  Henry  IV.,  ii.  58  ; 
policy  to  mingle  in  Indian  poli- 
tics, ii.  lf)3;  the  champion  of 
Christianity,  ii.  276. 

"  France  in  the  New  World,"  story 
of,  i.  xcv. 

France-Roy,  ii.  47. 

Francis  I.,  of  Angouleme,  owner 
passes  to,  ii.  13  ;  despatches  Ver- 
razzano  to  find  westward  pas- 
sage to  Cathay,  ii.  14;  captivity 


on  the   field    of    Paria,  ii.   19; 

treacherous  escape  from  captiv- 
ity, ii.  20 ;  ignores  bull  of  Alex- 
ander VI.,  ii.  22  ;  sinking  to  his 
ignominious  grave,  ii.  37. 

Francis  II.,  i.  25. 

Francis,  Saint,  of  Assisi,  character- 
istics of,  ii.  213,  214. 

Franciscans,  the,  i.  104,  ii.  214; 
relax  their  ancient  rigor,  ii.  214. 

Franklin  Inlet,  ii.  223. 

French,  the,  knowledge  of  locali- 
ties connected  with  occupancy 
of  Florida,  i.  Ixxxvii ;  their 
dominion  a  memory  of  the  past, 
i.  xcviii. 

French  Cape,  i.  36. 

French  colonization,  compared 
with  English  colonization,  ii.  217. 

French  Protestantism,  in  America, 
crushed  by  Menendez,  i.  180. 

Frenchman's  Bay,  ii.  126. 

Frontenac,  Count,  ii.  25. 

Fundy,  Bay  of,  explored  by  De 
Monts,  ii.  70,  135. 

Fur-trade,  infancy  of,  ii.  52,  53. 

Gaffarel,  i.  5,  153,  157  ;  ii.  8,  11. 
Gaillard,  M.,  i.  160,  162,  165. 
Gaillon,  ^lichel,  ii.  48. 
Galicia,  knights  of,  i.  104. 
Gamble,  Pierre,  i.  79. 
Ganabara,  i.  26,  28  ;  falls  a  prey  to 

the  Portuguese,  i.  32. 
Garay,  Juan  de,  voyages  of,  i.  11. 
Garcilaso,  de  la  Vega,  i.  10,  13,  14, 

17,  18,  19. 
Garneau,  ii.  154. 
Garonne  River,  the,  i.  39. 
Gas  (Guast),  Mont  du,  ii.  155. 
Gaspe,  Cartier  plants  a  cross  at,  ii. 

21,  151. 
Gastaldi,  map  of,  i.  149. 
Genesee  River,  the,  ii.  225. 
Genesee,  the,  valley  of,  ii.  171. 


INDEX. 


295 


Geneva,  Hugncnots  find  refuge  at, 
i.  21  ;  sends  large  deputation  to 
the  New  World,  i.  27. 

Genre,  plans  to  kill  Laudonniere, 
i.  69,  70. 

George,  Lake,  ii.  171. 

Georgia,  State  of,  i.  15. 

Georgian  Bay,  ii.  223. 

Germany,  the  heresy  of  Luther 
convulsing,  ii.  22. 

Gilbert,  abortive  attempt  to  settle 
near  mouth  of  the  Kennebec 
River,  ii.  115. 

Gironde  River,  the,  i.  39. 

Gloucester  Harbor,  ii.  77,  87. 

Goat  Island,  ii.  80. 

Godfrey,  i.  102. 

Gomara,  i.  10,  13;  ii.  8,  11. 

Gorges,  ii.  147. 

Gosselin,  M.,  ii.  44,  52,  54,  56. 

Gouldsborough  Hills,  ii.  126. 

Gourgue,  Captain,  i.  5. 

Gonrgues,  Dominique  de,  hatred 
of  the  Spaniards,  i.  158  ;  early 
life  of,  i.  159;  resolves  on  ven- 
geance, i.  159  ;  his  band  of  ad- 
venturers, i.  160;  the  voyage, 
i.  161  ;  his  plan  di\'ulged,  i.  161  ; 
warmly  welcomed  by  the  In- 
dians, i.  163;  lands  in  Florida, 
i.  164;  joins  forces  with  Chief 
Satouriona  against  the  Span- 
iards, i.  165  ;  attack  on  the  Span- 
iards, i.  171  ;  victory  over  the 
Spaniards,  i.  172;  successfully 
attacks  Fort  San  ^fateo,  i.  173; 
execution  of  Spanish  prisoners, 
i.  175  ;  his  mission  fulfilled,  i. 
176;  return  to  France,  i.  177; 
coldly  received  by  the  King,  i. 
178;  invited  by  Queen  Eliza- 
beth to  enter  her  service,  i.  178  ; 
accepts  command  of  fleet  against 
Philip  II.,  i.  178;  sudden  death, 
i.  178;  tribute  to,  i.  178. 


Gourgues,  Vicomte  A.  de,  i.  5,  7, 
1.58,  160. 

"  Grace  of  God,"  the,  ii.  113. 

Granada,  Spain's  final  triumph 
over  infidels  of,  i.  9. 

Grand  Rank,  the,  ii.  151. 

Grandchomin,  i.  126. 

Grande  Isle,  ii.  170. 

Granville,  ii.  154. 

Gravier,  Gabriel,  ii.  57,  125. 

Great  Head,  ii.  1 26. 

Great  Lakes,  the,  ii.  180. 

Green  Mountain,  ii.  126. 

Green  Mountains,  the,  ii.  170. 

Grotaut,  i.  78. 

Grotius,  i.  179. 

Guast,  Pierre  du,  petitions  for 
leave  to  colonize  Acadia,  ii.  65  ; 
plans  for  the  expedition,  ii.  66; 
pledges  to  Rome,  ii.  67  ;  expe- 
dition sets  sail,  ii.  68;  Catholic 
and  Calvinist,  ii.  68 ;  sights  Cap 
la  Heve,  ii.  69  ;  awaits  .  arrival 
of  Pontgrave',  ii.  69 ;  proceeds 
to  St.  Mary's  Bay,  ii.  69;  the 
lost  pi'iest,  ii.  70  ;  discovers  An- 
napolis Harbor,  ii.  71  ;  explores 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  ii.  71  ;  visits 
and  names  the  St.  John  River, 
ii.  71  ;  St.  Croix  chosen  as  site 
for  new  colony,  ii.  71 ;  Pontrin- 
court  sails  for  France,  ii.  74  ; 
winter  miseries,  ii.  75  ;  weary  of 
St.  Croix,  ii.  76 ;  establishes 
himself  at  Port  Royal,  ii.  80 ; 
returns  to  France,  ii.  80 ;  in 
I'aris,  ii.  81  ;  patent  rescinded, 
ii.  94  ;  transfers  his  claims  to 
lands  in  Acadia  to  Madame  de 
Guercbeville,  ii.  121  ;  passion 
for  discovery,  ii.  149;  views  of 
colonization,  ii.  151  :  sends  Pont- 
grave and  Champlaiu  to  the 
New  World,  ii.  151  ;  failure  to 
gain  renewal  of  his  monopoly, 


296 


INDEX. 


ii.  179  ;  acts  without  it,  ii.  179  ; 
moving  toward  fiiiaucial  ruin,  ii. 
186. 

Guast,  Riviere  du,  ii.  77. 

Guercheville,  Maniuise  de,  rare 
qualities  of,  ii.  106  ;  relations  of 
Henry  IV.  with,  ii.  106-109; 
becomes  the  patroness  of  the 
Jesuits,  ii.  110;  assists  Eiard 
and  Masse  to  sail  for  Acadia,  ii. 
Ill;  sends  succor  to  the  colony 
in  Acadia,  ii.  121  ;  sweeping 
grant  of  territory  in  the  New 
World  given  to,  ii.  121,  122; 
prepares  to  take  possession,  ii. 
124 ;  pious  designs  crushed  in 
the  bud,  ii.  146. 

Guorin,  i.  25,  48,  158;  ii.  8,  56. 

Guise,  Due  de  (Francois  of  Lor- 
raine), i.  22,  26  ;  varying  popu- 
larity of,  i.  49. 


Hackit,  Thomas,  i.  .38. 

Hakluyt,  Richard,  i.  4,  11,  13,  17, 
38,  47,  50,  53,  65,  70,  77,  80,  91, 
117;  ii.  10,  11,  15,  21,38,41,43, 
44,  52,  53. 

Hamlin,  E.  L.,  ii.  128. 

Hampton  Beach,  ii.  77. 

Hampton  Roads,  ii.  136. 

Harrisse,  Henry,  ii.  8,  38,  50. 

Havana,  i.  148. 

Havre,  i.  35. 

Hawes,  Nathaniel,  ii.  131. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  i.  77 ;  comes 
to  relief  of  Laudonni^re's  com- 
pany, i.  89 ;  description  of,  i. 
90,  91  ;  covets  Florida  for  Eng- 
land, i.  92;  i.  113;  ii.  154. 

Hayti,  i.  108. 

Hazard,  ii.  38. 

IK'bort,  Louis,  ii.  246. 

Helyot,  ii.  214,  215. 

Henrietta  Maria,  Queen,  important 


bearing  of  her  dowry  upon  New 
France,  ii.  272. 

Henry  IL,  i.  25,  27. 

Henry  IV.,  of  France,  character- 
istics of,  ii.  58 ;  patron  of 
Champlain,  ii.  59 ;  insists  that 
Poutriucourt  attach  Jesuits  to 
his  expedition  to  Acadia,  ii. 
100  ;  murder  of,  ii.  104,  105,  186  ; 
hope  of  Europe  died  with,  ii. 
105  ;  relations  with  Marquise  de 
Guercheville,  ii.  107  ;  Champlain 
before,  ii.  1 79  ;  attracted  by  Char- 
lotte de  Montmorency,  ii.  191. 

Henry  VIIL,  of  England,  ii.  20. 

Herrera  y  Tordesillas,  Antonio  de, 
i.  10,  11,  19;  ii.  8,  10,  50. 

Hilton  Head,  i.  39,  41. 

Hispauiola,  Gourgues  lands  at,  i. 
161. 

"  Hochelaga,  River  of,"  ii.  23,  25. 

Hochelaga,  town  of,  ii.  26 ;  Car- 
tier  sets  out  for,  ii.  28  ;  Indians 
of,  ii.  29  ;  plan  showing  defences 
of,  ii.  30;  dwellings  of,  ii.  30; 
vanished,  ii.  64. 

Holmes,  ii.  131. 

Hornot,  ii.  9. 

Hospital  of  the  Gray  Nuns,  the, 
ii.  188. 

Hostaqua,  Chief,  i.  62 ;  promises 
aid  in  subjecting  Indians  to  rule 
of  the  French,  i.  78. 

Houel,  ii.  212. 

Hudson,  Hem-y,  voyage  of,  ii.  195. 

Hudson  River,  the,  ii.  172,  225. 

Hudson's  Bay,  ii.  153,  180. 

Iluet,  Paul,  ii.  246. 

Huguenots,  the,  occupation  of 
Florida,  i.  3  ;  authorities  for,  i.  3 ; 
fugitives  from  torture  and  death, 
i.  21 ;  gather  about  Calvin,  i.21  ; 
influence  in  colonizing  the  New 
World,  i.  27  ;  second  colony 
sails  for  the  New  World,  i.  33  ; 


INDEX. 


297 


a  political  as  well  as  a  religious 
party,  i.  34 ;  experiences  of  the 
second  expedition  to  the  New 
World,  i.  35-47  ;  doulile  tie  of 
sympathy  between  the  English 
I'uritans  and,  i.  92 ;  regarded 
Spain  as  natural  enemy,  i.  152  ; 
demand  redress  for  massacres 
in  Florida,  i.  153;  droop  under 
Marie  de  Medicis,  ii.  105  ;  re- 
volt against  the  King,  ii.  261. 

Hundred  Associates,  the,  ii.  258- 
200 ;  on  the  verge  of  baidcruj)tcy, 
ii.  274.  See  also  Coiupanij  of 
New  France. 

Hungry  Bay,  ii.  229. 

Huron  Indians,  the,  ii.  1G2; 
Champlaiu  joins  them  against 
the  Iroquois,  ii.  162-178;  ad- 
vantages to  Champlaiu  from 
alliance  with,  ii.  180;  Cham- 
plain's  tra<ling  with,  ii.  188, 189  ; 
tribal  relations,  ii.  223 ;  pojju- 
lation  of,  ii.  224  ;  regard  Cliam- 
plain  as  their  cliampion,  ii.  225  ; 
Bre'beuf  attempts  to  convert,  ii. 
2.53. 

Huron,  Lake,  discovery  of,  ii.  223. 

Huron-Iroquois  family  of  tribes, 
the,  ii.  29. 

Hyannis,  ii.  87. 

India,  passage  to,  ii.  21. 

Indians,  the,  attack  and  kill  Ponce 
de  Leon,  i.  11  ;  treatment  re- 
ceived from  De  Soto,  i.  14; 
friendly  reception  to  Coligny's 
coloni.sts,  i.  36 ;  familiarity  with 
the  colonists,  i.  42  ;  religious  fes- 
tival of,  i.  42  ;  friendly  reception 
to  Laudonni^re,  i.  50 ;  make 
offerings  to  pillar  erected  by 
Ribaut,  i.  51  ;  hatred  between 
the  tribes,  i.  57  ;  customs  of,  i. 
57,  58 ;  villages  of,  i.  58 ;  social 


distinctions  among,  i.  58  ;  French 
and  Spanish  treatment  com- 
pared, i.  162;  belief  in  proper- 
ties of  the  "  black  drink,"  i.  167  ; 
meeting  with  Cartier,  ii.  24  ;  of 
Hochelaga,  ii.  29 ;  kind  treat- 
ment received  from  Champlaiu, 
Lescarbot,  and  Poutrincourt,  ii. 
98  ;  Piencourt's  di.slike  for,  ii. 
117;  power  of  dreams  among, 
ii.  172  ;  armor  used  by,  ii.  175  ; 
custom  of  scalping  among,  ii. 
176  ;  cannibalism  among,  ii.  185  ; 
worshij)  of  tiie  Mauitou,  ii.  197  ; 
better  treated  by  the  French 
than  by  the  English,  ii.  277. 

Indies,  the,  Champlain's  desire  to 
find  a  route  to,  ii.  192. 

Iroquois  Indians,  the,  ii.  30,  162, 
Champlaiu  joins  the  Ilurons  and 
the  Algonquins  again.st,  ii.  162- 
178;  Cham})lain's  victory  over, 
ii.  175;  war  with  Champlain 
and  the  Montagnais,  ii.  181-185  ; 
attacked  by  Champlaiu  and  the 
Hurous,  ii.  232  ;  attack  Quebec, 
ii.  251  ;  a  constant  menace  to 
Quebec,  ii.  281. 

Iro(|U()is,  Riviere  des,  ii.  166. 

Isle  anx  Coudres,  the,  ii.  23,  24- 

I.sle  de  Roberval,  ii.  12. 

Isles,  Caj)  anx,  ii.  77. 

Isles  of  Demons,  the,  legends  con- 
cerning, ii.  11  ;  Roberval  at,  ii. 
44  ;  story  of  Marguerite  on,  ii. 
44-46. 

Isles  of  Shoals,  the,  ii.  77. 

Italian  Avars,  vitality  of  France 
wasted  in,  ii.  13. 


Jamav,  Denis,  ii.  215,  245. 
James  I.  of  England,  ii.  133  ;  grant 

made  to  tlie  London  Company, 

ii.  138. 


208 


INDEX. 


Jdinns  Kivor,  thr,  ii.  120,  120. 

Jaincstowii.  Capt.  Samuel  Argall 
arrives  at,  ii.  130,  137. 

Jean,  Francois,  i.  120. 

Jcaiinin,  Tresident,  ii.  195. 

Jerc'inic,  ii.  195. 

Jesuits,  tiie,  power  over  Spain,  i. 
96  ;  abandon  Florida  in  disgust, 
i.  179;  strong  at  court,  ii.  99; 
insist  on  taking  part  in  Poutrin- 
court's  Acadian  expedition,  ii. 
100;  Poutrincourt  fears  them  in 
his  colony,  ii.  101  ;  Spanish  in 
origin  and  policy,  ii.  101 ;  the 
Marquise  de  Guercheville  be- 
comes the  patroness  of,  ii.  110; 
supported  by  Marie  de  Medicis 
and  the  Marquise  de  Verneuil, 
ii.  110;  sail  for  Acadia,  ii.  112  ; 
arrive  at  Port  Royal,  ii.  113; 
vast  extent  of  the  influence  of, 
ii.  113,  114;  seize  Poutrincourt 
for  debt,  ii.  124  ;  the  Recollets 
apply  for  the  assistance  of,  ii. 
252 ;  increasing  strength  of,  ii. 
253 ;  Emery  de  Caen's  hatred 
of,  ii.  254. 

"  Jesus,"  the,  i.  89. 

Joachims,  the,  rapids  of,  ii.  221. 
"Jonas,"  the,  ii.  83,  125. 
Jordan  River,  the,  i.  11,  39. 


Kamouraska,  ii.  154. 

Kennebec  River,  the,  explored  by 
Champlain,  ii.  76. 

Kingston,  ii.  238. 

Kirke,  David,  ii.  262 ;  demands 
tlie  sun-ender  of  Quebec,  ii.  264  ; 
defeats  Roquemout,  ii.  265 ;  at 
Tadoussac,  ii.  268 ;  return  to 
England,  ii.  271,  272;  receives 
the  honor  of  knighthood,  ii.  273. 

Kirke,  Gervase,  ii.  262. 

Kirke,  Henry,  ii.  262. 


Kirke,  Lewis,  ii.  262 ;  lands  at 
Quebec,  ii.  267. 

Kirke,  Thomas,  ii.  262,  268 ;  re- 
signs Quebec,  ii.  276. 

Kohl,  i.  149. 

Larrador,  legends  concerning,  ii. 
1 1  ;  Cartier  coasts  the  shores  of, 
ii.  22  ;  derivation  of  name,  ii.  37. 
La  Cadie,  see  Acadia. 
La  Caille,  Fran9ois  de,  i.  63 ;  asks 
Laudonniere  to  allow  the  com- 
pany to  turn  buccaneers,  i.  71  ; 
fidelity  to  Laudonniere,  i.    72 ; 
plot     to    kill,    i.    72 ;    captures 
the  mutineers,   i.  75 ;    embarks 
against  the  Spanish,  i.  116;  in- 
terview with  Menendez,  i.  141. 
La  Chenaie,  ii.  154. 
La  Chere,  i.  44 ;  killed  and  eaten 

by  his  companions,  i.  46. 
Laet,  De,  i.  5,  10,  11,  19  ;  ii.  9,  10, 

13,38,  50,  55,  112. 
Lafitau,  ii.  30,  169,  173,  175. 
La   Fleche,   Father,    attempts   to 
Christianize  New  France,  ii.  102, 
103. 
La  Grange,    Captain,    council    of 
war,  i.  115, 116  ;  drowned,  i.  133. 
La  Heve,  Cap,  De  Monts  sights, 

ii.  69. 
Lairet  River,  the,  ii.  34. 
Lalemant,  Charles,  ii.  4,  176,  201, 

205,  224,  242,  253,  255. 
La  Mota,  de,  i.  180. 
La  Motte,  ii.  74,  132,  133,  146. 
La  Noue,  Father  Anne  de,  ii.  253, 

254,  276. 
La  Popeliniere,  i.  5,  25  ;  ii.  11. 
La  Potherie,  ii.  25,  154. 
La  Roche,   Marquis  de,   plans  to 
colonize    New    France,    ii.   53 ; 
titles   and  privileges  conferred, 
ii.  53,  54  ;  expedition  sets  out,  ii. 
54 ;     lands    convicts    on    Sable 


INDEX. 


299 


Island,  ii.  54  ;  return  to  France, 
ii.  56 ;  thrown  into  prison,  ii. 
56;  death  of,  ii.  57. 

La  Roque,  Jean  Frangois  de,  efforts 
to  plant  a  colony  in  Spanish 
Florida,  i.  19;  anew  champion 
of  New  France,  ii.  37  ;  honors 
conferred  upon,  ii.  37  ;  powers 
of,  ii.  38 ;  detained  by  unex- 
pected delays,  ii.  43  ;  discovers 
Cartier's  ships  returning  to 
France,  ii.  43;  mixed  complex- 
ion of  company  of,  ii.  44 ;  stern 
punishment  of  his  niece  Mar- 
guerite, ii.  44-46 ;  arrives  at 
Cap  Rouge,  ii.  47  ;  house  built, 
ii.  47  ;  famine  and  discontent,  ii. 
47,  48 ;  severity  of  rule  of,  ii. 
48 ;  ordered  back  to  France  by 
the  King,  ii.  48 ;  death  of,  ii. 
49. 

La  Roquette,  encourages  discon- 
tent felt  towards  Laudonnicre, 
i.  69. 

LaRoutte,  ii.  165,  166. 

La  Saussaye,  sails  for  Acadia,  ii. 

125  ;  arrives  at  Port  Royal,  ii. 
125 ;    sails    to    Mt.    Desert,   ii. 

126  ;  discontent  among  his 
sailors,  ii.  127;  attacked  and 
defeated  by  Captain  Argall,  ii. 
132;  interview  with  Captain 
Argall,  ii.  133;  turned  adrift  in 
an  open  boat,  ii.  134;  reaches 
St.  Malo,  ii.  135;  return  home, 
ii.  146. 

Laudonniere,  Rene  de,  i.  4,  40,47  ; 
origin,  i.  48  ;  commands  expedi- 
tion to  Florida,  i.  48;  descrip- 
tion of,  i.  48 ;  first  sight  of 
Florida,  i.  50 ;  friendly  relations 
with  the  Indians,  i.  50-54  ;  se- 
lects site  for  the  new  colony,  i. 
54 ;  builds  a  fort,  i.  55  ;  makes 
treaty  with  Chief  Satouriona,  i. 


57  ;  breaks  his  faith  with  Chief 
Satouriona,  i.  64 ;  determines  to 
make  friends  with  Chief  Outina, 
i.  64  ;  returns  two  prisoners  to 
Chief  Outina,  i.  65  ;  discontent 
among  the  followers  of,  i.  68 ; 
La  Roquette  and  Genre  plan  to 
destroy,  i.  69,  70  ;  charges  sent 
to  France  against,  i.  70 ;  disas- 
trous exchange  of  soldiers  for 
Captain  Bourdet's  sailors,  i.  70 ; 
asked  to  allow  his  company  to 
turn  buccaneers,  i.  72 ;  fidelity 
of  Ottigny,  Vasseur,  Arlac,  and 
La  Caille  to,  i.  72 ;  overpowered 
by  Fourneaux  during  illness,  i. 
72 ;  compelled  to  sign  commi.s- 
sion  for  We.st  India  cruise,  i.  73  ; 
entire  command  reorganized 
after  departure  of  the  muti- 
neers, i.  74 ;  capture  of  the 
mutineers,  i.  75 ;  court-martial 
of  the  mutineers,  i.  76,  77 ; 
threatened  starvation,  i.  81  ;  hos- 
tility of  the  Indians,  i.  81  ; 
Outina  attacked  and  captured, 
i.  84 ;  ransom  promised  for  re- 
lease of  Outina,  i.  85 ;  treach- 
erous attack  of  the  Indians,  i. 
87 ;  famine  and  desperation,  i. 
89  ;  relieved  by  Sir  John  Hawk- 
ins, i.  90-92  ;  arrival  of  Rihaut, 
i.  93 ;  required  to  resign  his 
command,  i.  94 ;  determines  to 
return  to  -France  to  clear  his 
name,  i.  95  ;  council  of  war,  i. 
115;  defenceless  condition  of 
Fort  Caroline,  i.  117;  escape 
from  the  mas.sacre  of  Fort  Caro- 
line, i.  124. 

Laudonniere,  Vale  of,  the,  i.  55. 

Laverdiore.  Abbe,  ii.  79. 

La  Vigne,  i.  118,  123. 

Le  Beau,  ii.  154. 

Le  Borgne,  Chief,  ii.  203. 


800 


INDEX. 


Le  Caron,  Joseph,  ii.  215;  note- 1 
worthy  mission  amoiip;  the  In- 1 
dians,  ii.  216-219;  discovery  of 
Lake  Huron,  ii.  22.3  ;  meeting 
with  Champlain,  ii.  225;  the 
fir.st  mass,  ii.  226;  returns  to 
Quebec,  ii.  244. 

Le  Clerc,  ii.  4,  19,  49,  21.3,  214, 
215,  216,  219,  224,  230,  248,  253. 

T-cdyard,  L.  W.,  ii.  231. 

Le  Jcune,  Paul,  the  Jesuit,  ii.  4, 
169,  201,  224,  238,  271,  276,  277, 
278,  279,  281. 

Le  Moyne,  Autoine,  i.  4,  50,  55, 
56,  64,  72,  74,  77,  80,  81,  112, 
114,  115,  124,  126,  129,  145,  146, 
167. 

Le'ry,  Baron  de,  attempt  at  settle- 
ment on  Sable  Island,  ii,  13. 

Le'ry,  Jean  de,  i.  28,  30,  31. 

Lescarbot,  Marc,  i.  5,  25,  128,  147, 
159,  160;  ii.  4,  9,  10,  13,  21,  23, 
35,  38,  48,  50,  52,  53,  54,  55; 
sketch  of,  ii.  81  ;  joins  Poutrin- 
court  in  expedition  to  Acadia, 
ii.  82 ;  first  sight  of  the  New 
World,  ii.  84 ;  arrives  at  Port 
Royal,  ii.  85 ;  left  in  charge  of 
Port  Royal,  ii.  87  ;  explores  the 
river  Equille,  ii.  89 ;  life  at 
Port  Royal,  ii.  92,  93 ;  evil  tid- 
ings, ii.  94;  Port  Royal  must 
be  abandoned,  ii.  95  ;  sorrow  at 
leaving  Port  Royal,  ii.  97  ;  sails 
for  France,  ii.  97 ;  radical  de- 
fect in  scheme  of  settlement,  ii. 
98 ;  kindly  relations  with  the 
Indians,  ii.  98;  ii.  100,  101,  102, 
105,  111,  112,  115,  123,  140,  142, 
147,  154,  158,  176. 
Levi,  Point,  ii.  154. 
Le'vis,    Henri   de,   see    Ventadour, 

Due  de. 
Liancourt,  M.  de,  ii.  108. 


Liboume  River,  the,  i.  40. 

Limoilou,  seigniorial  mansion  of, 
description  of,  ii.  44. 

Liverpool  Harbor,  ii.  69. 

Loire  River,  the,  i.  39. 

Lok,  Michael,  map  of,  i.  149  ;  ii.  8. 

London  Company,  the,  grant 
made  by  James  I.  to,  ii.  138. 

Long  Island,  ii.  17,  170. 

Long  Saut,  the,  rapids  of,  ii.  196. 

Lorraine,  Cardinal  of,  i.  22,  30, 
49. 

Los  Martires,  i.  148. 

Louis,  the  sagamore,  ii.  123. 

Louis  XIIL,  gives  sweeping  grant 
of  territory  in  the  New  World 
to  Madame  de  Guercheville,  ii. 
121  ;  power  increased  by  Riche- 
lieu, ii.  257. 

Lowell,  Charles  Russell,  i.  7. 

Loyola,  Ignatius  de,  the  mysteri- 
ous followers  of,  ii.  253 ;  sole 
masters  of  the  field  in  Canada, 
ii.  278. 

Luther,  Martin,  "  heresies  "  of,  i. 
31 ;  convulsing  Germany,  ii.  22. 

Luz,  St.  Jean  de,  ii.  8. 

Madeira,  ii.  15. 

Magin,  Antoine,  ii.  10. 

Maine,  seaboard  of,  ii.  18. 

Maiollo,  Visconte  di,  ii.  49. 

Major,  Mr.,  ii.  50. 

Mai  Bay,  ii.  268. 

Mallard,  Captain,  rescues  fugi- 
tives from  Fort  Caroline,  i.  129. 

Malo,  M.,  ii.  154. 

Malta,  Knights  of,  i.  23. 

Manitou,  the,  Indian  worship  of, 
ii.  197. 

Manitoualins,  the  spirit-haunted, 
ii.  223. 

Marais,  ii.  161,  165,  166,  167. 

Marets,  Burgaud  des,  ii.  46. 


INDEX. 


301 


Marguerite,  story  of  her  experi- 
ences ou  the  Isles  of  Demons,  ii. 
44-46. 

Marguerite  de  A^alois,  ii.  47. 

Marot,  psalms  of,  i.  34. 

Marquette,  Jacques,  second  dis- 
covery of  the  Mississippi,  i.  15. 

Marshall,  0.  H.,  ii.  201,  231. 

Marsiifield,  shores  of,  ii.  78. 

Martin,  ii.  154. 

Martines,  map  of,  i.  149. 

Martyr,  Peter,  i.  10,  11  ;  ii.  8,  10. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  ii.  77. 

Massachusetts  Indians,  the,  ii.  77. 

Masse,  Euemond,  ii.  110  ;  sails  for 
Acadia,  ii.  1 12 ;  ill-success  among 
the  Indians,  ii.  119;  relieved  by 
La  Saussaye,  ii.  125;  turned 
adrift  in  an  open  hoat,  ii.  134  ; 
reaches  St.  Malo,  ii.  135,  253. 

Matauzas  Inlet,  i.  36,  133. 

Matchedash,  Bay  of,  ii.  223,  227. 

Mattawau,  the,  ii.  221. 

Mavila,  Indian  town  of,  i.  17. 

May,  River  of,  i.  38,  48,  49,  50,  54, 
163. 

Mayarqua,  village  of,  i.  65. 

"Mayflower,"  tlie,  ii.  125. 

Mayport,  village  of,  i.  50,  163. 

Mayrra,  Chief  of  the  Tliimagoas, 

i.'ei. 

Medicis,  Catherine  de,  struggle  to 
hold  balance  of  power,  i.  22, 
40,  41  ;  helj)less  amid  storm  of 
factions,  i.  49  ;  leanings  toward 
Spain,  i.  101  ;  influenced  by  the 
Duke  of  Alva,  i.  101  ;  defends 
rights  of  the  French  in  Florida, 
i.  154. 

Medicis,  Marie  de,  becomes  regent 
of  France,  ii.  105 ;  character- 
istics of,  ii.  105  ;  supports  tlie 
Jesuits,  ii.  110. 

Membertou,  Chief,  ii.  86,  92,  94  ; 
grief  at  parting  with  the  colo- 


nists, ii.  96  ;  characteristics  of,  ii. 
96;  war  with  the  Armouchi- 
quuis,  ii.  96  ;  welcomes  I'outriu- 
court,  ii.  102;  converted  to 
Christianity,  ii.  102 ;  religious 
enthusiasm  of,  ii.  103;  remark- 
able character  of,  ii.  118;  death 
of,  ii.  118. 

Mendoza  Grajales,  Francisco  Lojjez 
de,  i.  6  ;  account  of  Menendez' 
expedition,  i.  106,  107,  108,  109, 
112,  113,  114,  118,  120,  128,  131, 
132,  134,  139. 

Menendez,  Bartholomew,  i.  131. 

Menendez  de  Aviles,  Pedro,  i.  6 ; 
boyhood  of,  i.  98  ;  early  career 
of,  i.  98,  99 ;  petition  to  Philip 
II.,  i.  99  ;  commissioned  to  con- 
quer Florida,  i.  100;  powers 
granted  to,  i.  100,  103;  plans 
of,  i.  100,  103;  force  strength- 
ened, i.  102  ;  a  new  crusade,  i. 
102  ;  formation  of  his  force,  i. 
104  ;  Sancho  de  Arcinicga  com- 
missioned to  join,  i.  105  ;  sail- 
ing of  the  expedition,  i.  105  j 
assailed  by  a  terrible  storm,  i. 
106;  haste  to  reach  Florida,  i. 
108;  first  sight  of  Florida,  i. 
109  :  flr.<t  sight  of  llibaut'ssliips, 
i.  110;  interview  with  the  French, 
i.  Ill;  the  French  flee  before,  i. 
112;  founds  St.  Augustine,  i. 
113;  takes  formal  possession  of 
Florida,  i.  113;  a  storm  saves 
his  shii)S  from  the  French  at- 
tack, i.  118,  119  ;  attack  on  Fort 
Caroline,  i.  119-125;  the  mas- 
sacre, i.  126-128  ;  return  to  St. 
Augustine,  i.  131  ;  tidings  of  the 
French,  i.  132  ;  interview  with 
the  French,  i.  135  ;  promises  of 
protection,  i.  137  ;  treachery  of, 
i.  138  ;  massacre  of  the  French, 
i.   139;  interview   with   Hibaut, 


302 


INDEX. 


i.  142  ;  further  treachery  and 
murder,  i.  143, 144  ;  exaggerated 
reports  to  Thilip  II.,  i.  148; 
Cliarles  IX.  demands  his  pun- 
ishment for  massacres  in  Flor-  ! 
ida,  i.  155,  156;  liigli  in  favor 
in  Spain,  i.  179  ;  re-establishes  his 
power  in  Florida,  i.  179  ;  given 
command  of  the  Spanish  Ar- 
mada, i.  179  ;  sudden  death  of, 
i.  180;  crushed  French  Trotest- 
antism  in  America,  i.  180;  Cana- 
dian fur  trade,  ii.  52. 

Mercator,  Ge'rard,  map  of,  ii.  23. 

Mercujur,  Due  de,  ii.  50,  59. 

"  Mer  Douce,"  the,  ii.  223. 

Mcry,  ii.  147. 

Mexico,  Cortes'  conquest  of,  i.  11 ; 
Champlain  visits,  ii.  60. 

Mexico,  Gulf  of,  i.  19. 

Meyrick,  ii.  174. 

Me/.eray,  i.  160. 

Miamis,  the,  cannibalism  among, 
ii.  185. 

Michel,  Captain,  ii.  262 ;  bitterness 
against  the  Catholics,  ii.  269  ; 
death  of,  ii.  271. 

Micniac  Indians,  the,  ii.  77. 

Milan,  France  loses,  ii.  19. 

Mississippi  River,  the,  i.  13 ;  dis- 
covered by  De  Soto,  i.  15  ; 
second  discovery  of,  by  Mar- 
quette,  i.  15. 

Mi.<sissippi,  State  of,  i.  15. 

Mitchell,  Henry,  ii.  79. 

Mo!i;i\vk  Indians,  the,  ii.  30,  172. 

Moliawk  River,  the,  ii.  171. 

Mohawk,  the,  valley  of,  ii.  171. 

Mohier,  Brother  Gervais,  experi- 
ence with  the  Indians,  ii.  246. 

MoUua,  Chief  of  the  Thimagoas,  i. 
62. 

Moluccas,  the,  i.  148. 

Monomoy  Point,  ii.  87. 

Monroe,  Fortress,  ii.  136. 


Montagnais  Indians,  the,  ii.  153, 
177  ;  advantages  to  Champlain 
of  alliance  with,  ii.  180;  war 
with  the  Iroquois,  ii.  181-185. 

Montcalm,  ii.  25. 

Monteil,  ii.  8. 

Montgomery,  ii.  25. 

Montluc,  Blaise  de,  i.  160. 

Montmorency,  Charlotte  de,  ii.  191. 

Montmorency,  Due  de  (Anne),  i. 
22. 

Montmorency,  Due  de,  purchases 
the  lieutenancy  of  New  France 
from  Conde',  ii.  249 ;  suppresses 
the  company  of  St.  Malo  and 
Rouen,  and  confers  the  trade  of 
New  France  to  William  and 
Emery  de  Caen,  ii.  251 ;  sells  his 
viceroyalty  to  the  Due  de  Ven- 
tadour,  ii.  252 ;  holds  ancient 
charge  of  Admiral  of  France,  ii. 
258 ;  sells  it  to  Richelieu,  ii.  258. 

Montpensier,  Due  de,  i.  159. 

Montreal,  ii.  28  ;  Champlain  lays 
the  foundations  for,  ii.  188  ;  im- 
portance as  a  trading-station,  ii. 
246. 

Montreal,  Mountain  of,  ii.  29. 

Moorish  wars,  the,  i.  9. 

Motte,  Isle  a  la,  ii.  170. 

Mount  Desert,  Island  of,  visited 
and  named  by  Champlain,  ii.  76  ; 
La  Saussaye  arrives  at,  ii.  126. 

Mount  Desert  Sound,  ii.  128. 

Munster,  map  of,  i.  149. 
Murphy,  Henry  C,  ii.  50. 
Muskrat  Lake,  ii.  201. 

Nantasket  Beach,  ii.  78. 
Nantes,  Jean  de,  ii.  48. 
Narvaez,  Pamphilo  de,  expedition 
to  Florida,  i.  12  ;  death  of,  i.  12. 
Nassau  River,  the,  i.  169. 
Natel,  Antoine,  ii.  156. 
Nation  of  Tobacco,  the,  ii.  242. 


INDEX. 


303 


Nausett  Harbor,  ii.  78. 

Navarre,  i.  22. 

Navarrete,  ii.  11. 

Neutral  Natiou,  the,  ii.  224. 

New  England,  unfaithful  to  the 
principle  of  freedom,  ii.  256 ; 
compared  with  New  France,  i. 
xcvi ;  ii.  256. 

Newfoundland,  i.  103,  148,  149; 
visited  by  Bretons  and  Nor- 
mans, ii.  10;  importance  of  the 
firjlieries  of,  ii.  11;  Verrazzano 
reaches,  ii.  18  ;  Cartier  sails  for, 
ii.  21 ;  trade  steadily  plied  at, 
ii.  51. 

New  France,  compared  with  New 
England,  i.  xcvi ;  ii.  256  ;  tragi- 
cal opening  of  the  story  of,  i.  3; 
Champlaiu  the  father  of,  ii.  3  ; 
division  of,  ii.  23 ;  La  Ruche 
plans  to  colonize,  ii.  53 ;  De 
("liastes'  expedition  to,  ii.  64; 
Poutrincourt's  attempts  to  Cliris- 
tiauize,  ii.  102;  tlie  Jesuits  in, 
ii.  114;  the  Comte  de  Soissons 
granted  vice-regal  powers  in,  ii. 
190;  the  Prince  de  Conde  as- 
sumes protectorship  of,  ii.  191  ; 
in  Champlain  alone  the  life  of, 
ii.  192  ;  poor  prosj)ects  of ,  ii.  193  ; 
inseparable  blending  of  spiritual 
and  temporal  interests  in,  ii. 
212;  Richelieu  remedies  the  af- 
fairs of,  ii.  258 ;  to  be  forever 
free  from  taint  of  heresy,  ii. 
259  ;  Kirke  wrests  power  from 
the  French  in,  ii.  265 ;  restored 
to  French  Crown  by  Charles  I., 
ii.  272 ;  explanation  of  Charles 
I.'s  willingness  to  make  restora- 
tion to  the  French  Crown  of,  ii. 
272. 

New  Mexico,  i.  19. 

Newport,  ii.  17. 

Newport,  Captain,  ships  of,  ii.  129. 


Newport  Mountain,  ii.  126. 

Newport  News,  ii.  136. 

New  Spain,  i.  12. 

New  York,  Dutch  trading-houses 
of,  ii.  121. 

Niagara,  Falls  of,  ii.  65. 

Nibachis,  Chief,  ii.  202. 

Nichols  Pond,  ii.  231. 

Nipissing  Indians,  the,  ii.  203  ; 
village  of,  ii.  222 ;  promise  to 
guide  Chamjdaiu  to  the  north- 
ern sea,  ii.  242. 

Nipissing,  Lake,  Champlain  at,  ii- 
222. 

Noel,  Jac(iues,  ii.  53. 

Noirot,  Fatlier,  ii.  253. 

Norembega,  ii.  38,  76. 

Norm.ans,  the,  ii.  9. 

North  Carolina,  coast  sighted  by 
Verrazzano,  ii.  15. 

"  Northern  Paraguay,"  the,  ii.  122 ; 
strangled  in  its  birth,  ii.  148. 

Nottawassaga  Bay,  ii.  223. 

Oathcaqua,  Chief,  i.  80. 
O'Callaghan,  Dr.  E.  B.,  ii.  5,  12. 

143. 
Ogilby,  ii.  10. 
Old  Point  Comfort,  ii.  136. 
Olotoraca,  Chief,  i.  167,  169,  171. 
Onatheacjua,  King,  i.  62. 
Oneida,  Lake,  ii.  229,  231. 
Onondaga    Indians,    the,    ii.    230, 

231. 
Onondaga,  Lake,  ii.  231. 
Onondaga,  tlie,  valley  of,  ii.  171. 
Ontario,  Lake,  Champlain  on,  ii. 

229. 
"  Ordre  de  Bon-Temps,  1',"  ii-  91. 
Orillia,  town  of,  ii.  227. 
Orleans,  Channel  of,  ii.  64. 
Orleans,  the  Island  of,  ii.  24,  154. 
Ortelius,   second    map   of,   ii.  23 ; 

division  of  New  France,  ii.  23. 
Orville,  Sieur  d',  ii.  73,  74. 


304 


INDEX. 


Olis,  ii.  79. 

HtKiiacha,  Huron  town  of,  ii.  224. 

Ottawa  Indiaus,  the,  ii.  205. 

Ottawa    Kivcr,    tlie,   ii.  162,  218, 
221. 

Ottigny,  Lieutenant,  i.  52,  53,  59, 
60 ;  the  Thiinagoa.'i  offer  to  point 
out   gold   and   silver  to,   i.  61 
fidelity   to  Laudonniere,   i.  72 
disarmed   by   mutineers,   i.  73 
joins  Ciiief  Outina  against  King 
I'otanou,    on    promise  of    being 
shown  gold  mines,  i.  80 ;  victory 
over  King   Potanou,   i.  81  ;  at- 
tacked  by   the   Indians,   i.    87  ; 
council  of  war,  i.  115;  embarks 
against    the    Spanish,    i.    116; 
murdered    by    the    Spanish,  i. 
147. 

Onade,  King,  i.  43. 

Outina,  Chief,  i.  57  ;  lord  of  all 
the  Thimagoas,  i.  62  ;  Laudon- 
niere determines  to  make  friends 
with,  i.  64  ;  Laudonniere  returns 
two  prisoners  to,  i.  65  ;  Vasseur 
promises  to  join  against  King 
Potanou,  i.  66 ;  victory  over 
warriors  of  King  Potanou,  i.  67  ; 
asks  further  aid  of  the  French 
against  King  Potanou,  promis- 
ing to  show  gold  mines,  i.  80; 
victory  over  King  Potanou,  i. 
81  ;  refuses  assistance  to  the 
colonists,  i.  83 ;  attacked  and 
captured  by  the  colonists,  i.  84  ; 
ransom  promised  for  release  of, 
i.  85. 
Overman,  Captain,  ii.  201. 

P.\LATKA,    i.  59. 

Palfrey,  John  G.,  ii.  256. 
Palms,  River  of,  i.  19. 
Panuco  River,  the,  Spanish  settle- 
ment on,  i.  17. 
Parkhurst,  Anthonie,  ii.  11. 


Parmentier,  Jean,  ii.  10,  13. 
Parry  Sound,  ii.  223. 
Passamaquoddy,  Bay  of,  ii.  65,  71. 
Pas.samaquoddy  Lidians,  tlie,  ii.  71. 
Patifio,  i.  113. 

Paul  v..  Pope,  i.  179;  repudiates 
action  of  Pope  Alexander   VI. 
in  proclaiming  all  America  the 
exclusive  property  of  Spain,  ii. 
213. 
Pavia,  field  of,  ii.  19. 
"Pearl,"  the,  i.  127. 
Pemetigoet  River,  the,  ii.  76. 
Penetanguishiue,  Harbor  of,  ii.223. 
Penobscot  River,  the,  ii.  76. 
Perez,  Fernando,  i.  122. 
Peru,  conquest  of,  i.  13. 
Petuueux,  the,  ii.  242. 
Philip  II.,  i.  6,  21,  97  ;  commissions 
Menendez  to  conquer  Florida,  i. 
100 ;     approval    of    Menendez' 
slaughters   in    Florida,    i.    147, 
151  ;     resents     expeditions     of 
Ribaut     and     Laudonniere     to 
Florida,   i.   153  ;  demands   that 
Coligny  be  punished  for  plant- 
ing a  French  colony  in  Florida, 
i.    154;   refuses   to  give  redress 
for     Menendez'     massacres     in 
Florida,  i.  155,    156  ;  Gourgues 
takes  command  of  fleet  against, 
i.  178. 
Pierria,   Albert   de,  left    in   com- 
mand of  the  colonists  by  Ribaut, 
i.   41 ;    extreme   severity   of,   i. 
44 ;  murdered  by  his  men,  i.  44. 
Pinkerton,  ii.  52. 
Pinzon,  ii.  8. 
Pizarro,   Francisco,    conquest    of 

Peru,  with  De  Soto,  i.  13. 
Place  Royale,  see  Montreal. 
Plymouth,  ii.  148. 
Plymouth    Company,    the,    grant 

made  by  James  I.  to,  ii.  138. 
Plymouth  Harbor,  ii.  78. 


INDEX. 


305 


Pocahontas,  abducted  by  Capt. 
Samuel  Argall,  ii.  130 ;  married 
to  Rolf e,  ii.  130. 

Point  Allerton,  ii.  78. 

Pointe  aPuiseaux,  ii.  155. 

Pointe  aux  Rochers,  la,  ii.  151. 

Pointe  de  Tous  les  Diables,  la,  ii. 
151. 

Pommeraye,  Charles  de  la,  ii.  22, 
28. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  Bay  of,  i.  148. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  Juan,  sets  out  to 
find  fountain  of  eternal  youth,  i. 
10;  bargain  with  the  King,  i. 
11  ;  explores  and  names  Florida, 
i.  1 1  ;  attempt  to  plant  colony  in 
Florida,  i.  1 1 ;  death  of,  i.  11; 
new  light  thrown  on  discoveries 
of,  i.  11. 

Pons,  Antoinette  de,  see  Guerche- 
ville,  Marquise  de. 

Pontbriand,  Claude  de,  ii.  22,  28. 

Pontgrave,  plans  for  fur-trading, 
ii.  57  ;  sets  out  on  enterprise,  ii. 
58;  takes  part  in  De  Chastes' 
expedition  to  New  France,  ii. 
63,  64 ;  overtakes  De  Mont.«,  ii. 
69 ;  left  in  command  at  Port 
Eoyal  by  De  Mouts,  ii.  80;  life 
at  Port  Royal,  ii.  85 ;  sails  for 
France,  ii.  87  ;  commands  ship 
sent  by  De  Monts  to  trade  with 
the  Indians,  ii.  151  ;  conflict  witli 
the  Basques,  ii.  151,152;  makes 
peace  with  the  Basques,  ii.  152  ; 
sails  for  France,  ii.  158  ;  return 
to  Tadoussac,  ii.  161 ;  remains  in 
charge  at  Quebec,  ii.  161  ;  re- 
turns to  France,  ii.  179. 

Pontgrave  (the  younger)  causes 
Poutrincourt  trouble  with  the 
Indians,  ii.  114;  taken  prisoner 
by  Biencourt,  ii.  115. 

Poore,  B.  P.,  ii.  4. 

Popham,  abortive  attempt  to  settle 
VOL.  II.  —  20 


near  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec 
River,  ii.  1 1 5. 

Porcupine  Islands,  ii.  126. 

Port  Fortune,  ii.  87;  treacherous 
slaughter  at,  ii.  98. 

Port  la  Hcve,  ii.  103. 

Port  Mallebarre,  ii.  78. 

Port  Mouton,  ii.  69. 

Porto  Rico,  harbor  of,  i.  107. 

Port  Royal,  ii.  71,  74  ;  De  Monts 
establishes  himself  at,  ii.  80 ; 
Lescarbot  arrives  at,  ii.  85  ; 
life  at,  ii.  85  ;  description 
of,  ii.  90 ;  must  be  aban- 
doned, ii.  95 ;  radical  defect 
in  scheme  of  settlement,  ii.  98 ; 
no  attempt  to  enforce  religious 
exclusion,  ii.  98 ;  Poutrincourt 
arrives  at,  ii.  102 ;  conversion 
of  the  natives  to  Christianity,  ii. 
102 ;  the  Jesuits  arrive  at,  ii. 
113;  friction  between  spiritual 
and  temporal  powers,  ii.  114; 
miser}-  at,  ii.  119  ;  endless  strife 
over,  ii.  122;  La  Saussaye  ar- 
rives at,  ii.  125;  demolished  by 
Captain  Argall,  ii.  139 ;  par- 
tially rebuilt  by  Biencourt,  ii. 
147  ;  restitution  to  France,  ii. 
273. 

Port  Royal,  South  Carolina,  i.  39, 
40,  103. 

Port  Royal  Basin,  ii.  85. 

Port  St.  Louis,  ii.  78. 

Portsmouth  Harbor,  ii.  77. 

Portugal,  i.  26 ;  makes  good  its 
claim  to  "Antarctic  France,"  i. 
32. 

Portugal,  King  of,  sole  acknowl- 
edged partner  with  Spain  in 
ownership  of  the  New  World, 
ii.  40. 

Portuguese,  the,  Ganabara  falls  a 
prey  to,  i.  32. 

Postel,  ii.  9. 


30G 


INDEX. 


I'otanou,  Kin<2:,  i.  57,  62 ;  Vasseur 
joins  Chief  Oiitina  agaiust,  i. 
66  ;  victory  over,  i.  67  ;  Ottigny 
joins  Chief  Outina  against,  i. 
80  ;  victory  over,  i.  81. 

I'ontrincourt,  Baron  de,  ii.  66; 
asks  to  remain  on  Annapolis 
Harbor,  ii.  71 ;  sails  for  France, 
ii.  74 ;  resolves  to  go  in  person 
to  Acadia,  ii.  81 ;  joined  by  Les- 
carbot,  ii.  82 ;  first  sight  of  the 
New  World,  ii.  84 ;  arrives  at 
Port  Royal,  ii.  85  ;  continues 
with  Chaniplain  on  a  voyage  of 
discovery,  ii.  87  ;  failure,  ii.  88 
return  to  Port  Royal,  ii.  89 
"I'Ordre  de  Bon-Temps,"  ii.  91 
life  at  Port  Royal,  ii.  92,  9.3 
evil  tidings,  ii.  94 ;  Port  Royal 
must  be  abandoned,  ii.  95  ;  sails 
for  France,  ii.  97  ;  radical  defect 
in  scheme  of  settlement,  ii.  98  ; 
kindly  relations  with  the  In- 
dians, ii.  98 ;  determines  to  make 
Acadia  a  new  France,  ii.  99  ; 
influence  acting  against  his 
schemes,  ii.  99 ;  the  King  in- 
sists that  Jesuits  be  added  to 
the  Acadian  expedition,  ii.  100; 
a  good  Catholic,  ii.  100;  fears 
the  Jesuits  in  his  colony,  ii.  101 
sets  sail  for  Port  Royal,  ii.  101 
mutiny  on  board  ship,  ii.  102 
attempts  to  Christianize  New 
France,  ii.  102;  narrow  escape 
from  drowning,  ii.  104  ;  friction 
with  Biard,  ii.  114;  sails  for 
France,  ii.  1 1 5 ;  accepts  aid  from 
Madame  de  Guercheville,  ii. 
121  ;  seized  by  the  Jesuits  for 
debt,  ii.  1 24 ;  accuses  Biard  of 
treachery,  ii.  139,  140;  visit  to 
Port  Royal,  ii.  147 ;  death  at 
Me'ry,  ii.  147. 

Prescott,  i.  97. 


Prescott  Gate,  ii.  155. 

Pre'vost,  Robert,  i.  128,  147,  160, 
162,  168. 

Protestantism,  Coligny  the  repre- 
sentative and  leader  in  France, 
i.  .34. 

Prout's  Neck,  ii.  77. 

Provence,  invasion  of,  ii.  19. 

Purchas,  i.  13,  19,  91  ;  ii.  10,  43, 
52,  55,  57,  84,  131,  140,  141, 142, 
147,  158. 

Puritans,  the,  landing  of,  i.  35  ; 
compared  with  Coligny's  colo- 
nists, i.  35  ;  double  tie  of  sym- 
pathy between  the  Huguenots 
and,  i.  92  ;  regarded  Spain  as 
natural  enemy,  i.  152  ;  of  New 
England,  ii.  256. 

Quebec,  i.  19  ;  language  of,  ii.  24  ; 
early  name  of,  ii.  25 ;  Cham- 
plain's  map  of,  ii.  25 ;  the  Indi- 
ans of,  ii.  30 ;  Cartier  at,  ii.  33, 
41;  origin  of  name,  ii.  154' 
Champlain  lays  the  foundation 
of,  ii.  155;  plot  to  put  Basques 
and  Spaniards  in  possession  of, 
ii.  156;  winter  sufferings  at,  ii. 
160;  Pontgrave  remains  in 
charge  at,  ii.  161 ;  Chauvin  of 
Dieppe  in  charge  at,  ii.  179; 
Champlain  bids  farewell  to,  ii. 
1 86 ;  Du  Pare  in  command  at, 
ii.  187;  signs  of  growth  faint 
and  few  at,  ii.  245  ;  half  trading 
factory,  half  mission,  ii.  247  ; 
bad  state  of  affairs  at,  ii.  250; 
attacked  by  the  Iroquois,  ii. 
251 ;  rival  traders  at,  ii.  251  ; 
population  of,  ii.  255 ;  the  Com- 
pany of  New  France  give  succor 
to,  ii.  261 ;  the  English  at,  ii. 
263,  264  ;  suffering  at,  ii.  265 ; 
on  the  verge  of  extinction,  ii. 
266;   restitution  to  France,   ii. 


IXDEX. 


301 


273 ;  reclaimed  from  the  Eng- 
lish, ii.  274  ;  Chaini)lain  resumes 
command  at,  ii.  :i77  ;  becomes  a 
mission,  ii.  279 ;  propajjjandism 
at,  ii.  279 ;  policy  and  religion 
at,  ii.  280. 

Quentin,  Father,  sails  for  Acadia, 
ii.  125,  1.38. 

Quirpon  Island,  ii.  12. 

Rabelais,  ii.  46. 

Kamc',  ii.  44,  53,  54. 

Ramusio,  map  of,  i.  13  ;  ii.  10,  11, 
13,  15,  19,  21,30,38,48. 

Rand,  ii.  65. 

Rauke,  i.  159. 

Rathery,  ii.  46. 

Ravaillac,  murders  Henry  IV.,  ii. 
104,  105  ;  execution  of,  ii.  177. 

Razilly,  Claude  de,  ii.  271. 

Recollet  Friars,  ii.  213  ;  authorized 
by  Pope  Paul  V.,  to  convert  the 
Indians,  ii.  213  ;  four  of  their 
number  sail  for  New  France 
with  Champlain,  ii.  215;  choose 
a  site  for  their  convent,  ii.  215; 
assignment  of  labors,  ii.  215; 
build  a  stone  house  for  defence, 
ii.  245  ;  missions  established  by, 
ii.  252  ;  apply  for  the  assistance 
of  the  Jesuits,  ii.  252  ;  unable  to 
return  to  their  missions,  ii.  278. 

Red  River,  i.  12. 

Reform,  the,  i.  22,  23. 

Religious  wars,  the,  France  glid- 
ing toward,  i.  33. 

Ribauld,  i.  3. 

Ribaut,  Jac(]ues,  i.  127,  128,  1.30. 

Ribaut,  Capt.  Jean,  i.  3 ;  com- 
mands second  Huguenot  expe- 
dition to  the  New  World,  i.  -35  ; 
experiences  in  Florida,  35-41  ; 
friendly  reception  by  the  In- 
dians, i.  36 ;  delightful  first  im- 
pressions   of    Florida,     i.     37 ; 


journal  of,  i.  38 ;  embarks  for 
France,  i.  41  ;  Indians  make 
offerings  to  the  pillar  erected 
by,  i.  51  ;  arrival  in  Florida  to 
relieve  Laudonnicre,  i.  93  ;  ar- 
rival of  the  Spaniards  in  Flor- 
ida, i.  95,  110;  flees  before  the 
Spanish  ships,  i.  112;  council 
of  war,  i.  115;  bold  plan  of,  i. 
115;  letter  from  Coligny,  i.  1 15 ; 
characteristics  of,  i.  116;  mis- 
fortunes of,  i.  133;  interview 
with  Menendez,  i.  142  ;  treach- 
er}-  and  murder,  i.  143,  144,  146, 
147. 

Richelieu,  supreme  in  France,  ii. 
257 ;  strengthens  the  royal 
power,  ii.  257  ;  annuls  the  priv- 
ileges of  the  Caens,  ii.  258; 
forms  the  company  of  New 
France,  ii.  258 ;  at  Rochelle, 
ii.  261. 

Richelieu  River,  the,  ii.  166,  180. 

Rideau,  the,  ii.  197. 

Rio  Janeiro,  harbor  of,  i.  26. 

Rip  Raps,  the,  ii.  136. 

Robert,  Master,  i.  125. 

Roberval,  Sieur  de,  see  Rogue, 
Jean  Francois  de  la. 

Robin,  associated  with  Poutrin- 
court  in  his  Acadian  scheme,  ii. 
99. 

Rochelle,  the  centre  and  citadel  of 
Calvinism,  ii.  83 ;  Richelieu  at. 
ii.  261. 

Rocher  Capitaine,  the,  ii.  221. 

Rohan,  Catherine  de,  Duchesse  de 
Dcux-Ponts,  ii.  106. 

Rolfe,  marries  Pocahontas,  ii.  130. 

Rome,  i.  30. 

Roquemont,  ii.  261  ;  defeated  by 
Kirke.  ii.  265. 

Rossignol,  ii.  69. 

Rougemont,  Philippe,  death  of,  ii. 
35. 


308 


INDEX. 


Royal,  Mont,  ii.  33. 
Huscelli,  map  of,  i.  149,  153. 
Knssell,  A.  J.,  ii.  201. 
Kut,  .Tohn,  ii.  10. 
Rye  Beach,  ii.  77. 

Rahle,  Cape,  ii.  69,  135. 
JSahle  Island,  Baron  de  Lery's  at- 
tempt at  settlement  on,  ii.  13 ; 
La  Roche  lands  convicts  on,  ii. 
54 ;  left  to  their  fate,  ii.  55 ; 
Chefdhotel  despatched  to  bring 
them  home,  ii.  56. 

Saco  Bay,  ii.  77. 

Sagard,  Gabriel,  ii.  4,  68, 173,  175, 
185,  201,  213,  216,  219,  223,  224, 
237,  245,  248,  264,  266. 

Saguenay  River,  the,  ii.  24,  57, 152. 

St.  Ann's,  ii.  196. 

St.  Augustine,  i.  50 ;  founding  of, 
i.  113;  Menendez  returns  in 
triumph  to,  i.  132. 

St.  Augustine,  Fort,  i.  147. 

St.  Bartholomew,  carnage  of,  i.  101. 

St.  Charles  River,  the,  ii.  25,  155. 

Saint  Cler,  i.  118. 

St.  Croix,  chosen  for  site  of  new 
colony,  ii.  71  ;  fort  built,  ii.  72  ; 
winter  miseries,  ii.  75  ;  De  Mouts 
weary  of,  ii.  76. 

St.  Croix,  I.«land  of,  ii.  138  ;  settle- 
ment on,  ii.  140. 

St.  Croix  River,  the,  ii.  25  ;  boun- 
dary line  between  Maine  and 
New  Branswick,  ii.  72. 

St.  Elena,  i.  104. 

St.  Helen,  Island  of,  ii.  195. 

St.  Helena,  i.  39. 

St.  Jean,  ii.  154. 

St.  John,  ii.  25. 

St.  John,  the  Bay  of  ii.  10;  Ro- 
berval  enters,  ii.  43. 

St.  John,  Islets  of,  ii.  166. 

St.  John  River,  tlie,  visited  and 
named  by  De  Mouts,  ii.  71. 


St.  John  (Richelieu)  River,  the, 
ii.  166. 

St.  John's  Bluff,  i.  52,  55,  121. 

St.  John's  River,  the,  i.  38,  50,  51, 
.54,  59,  65,  110. 

St.  Just,  barony  of,  in  Champagne, 
owned  by  Poutrincourt,  ii.  101. 

St.  Lawrence,  Bay  of,  ii.  23. 

St.  Lawrence,  Gulf  of,  i.  103  ;  ex- 
plored by  Denis  of  Honfleur,  ii.  13. 

St.  Lawrence  River,  the,  i.  148, 
149;  Cartier  reaches,  ii.  23,  42; 
Roberval  sails  up,  ii.  47  ;  Cham- 
plain  explores,  ii.  64,  1 54 ;  the 
English  on,  ii.  271. 

St.  Louis,  castle  of,  ii.  245. 

St.  Louis,  Lake  of,  ii.  189. 

St.  Louis,  Rapids  of,  Champlain 
tries  to  pass,  ii.  64,  189. 

St.  Louis  River,  the,  ii.  166. 

St.  Malo,  town  of,  ii.  20,  44  ;  sends 
out  fleet  for  Canadian  fur-trade, 
ii.  53,  135. 

St.  Martin,  mines  of,  i.  149. 

St.  Mary's  Bay,  i.  103  ;  De  Monts 
enters,  ii.  69,  72. 

St.Mary's  (Chesapeake)  Bay,  i.  103. 

St.  Mary's  River,  the,  i.  39,  163. 

St.  Peter,  Lake  of,  ii.  64,  165. 

St.  Quentin,  victory  of,  i.  98. 

St.  Roche,  ii.  154. 

St.  Roque,  ii.  25. 

St.  Sauveur,  La  Saussaye  arrives 
at,  ii.  126  ;  destruction  of,  ii.  134. 

Sainte  Marie,  council  of  war,  1. 115, 

Salazar,  i.  137. 

San  Agustin,  i.  113. 
San  Mateo,  Fort,  i.  1 50 ;  repaired, 
i.  162;    Gourgues'  attack  on,  i. 
173  ;  rebuilt  by  Menendez,  i.  179. 
"  San   Pelayo,"   the,    flag-ship   of 
Menendez,  i.  104,  107,  108,  110, 
112,  113,  114. 
Santander,  Dr.  Pedro  de,  i.  18. 
Santilla  River,  the,  i.  1 63. 


INDEX. 


309 


Sarrope,  Island  of,  i.  80. 

Satourioua,  Chief,  i.  51 ;  makes 
treaty  with  Laudonniere,  i.  57  ; 
Vasseur  makes  false  report  to, 
i.  63 ;  expedition  against  the 
Thimagoas,  i.  63  ;  hatred  toward 
Laudonnicre's  company,  i.  81  ; 
warm  welcome  to  (iourgues,  i. 
163;  cruel  treatment  from  the 
Spaniards,  i.  164;  joins  with 
Gourgues  against  the  Spaniards, 
i.  165;  attack  on  the  Sj)aniards, 
i.  171 ;  victory  over  the  Span- 
iards, i.  172. 

Saut  au  Re'collct,  ii.  254. 

Saut  St.  Louis,  ii.  188,  210,  235. 

Savalet,  ii.  97. 

Savauuali  River,  the,  i.  43. 

Schooner  Head,  ii.  126. 

Scituate,  shores  of,  ii.  78. 

Seine  Kiver,  the,  i.  39. 

Seloy,  Chief,  i.  113,  119,  132. 

Seneca  Indians,  the,  ii.  231. 

Severn  River,  the,  ii.  227. 

Seville,  Cardinal  of,  ii.  40. 

Sewell's  Point,  ii.  136. 

Shea,  John  Gilmary,  i.  xcix. 

Sibley,  .lohn  Langdon,  i.  7. 

Simcoe,  Lake,  ii.  227,  229. 

Sismondi,  ii.  37,  192. 

Sister  Creek,  i.  170. 

Skull  Creek,  i.  40. 

Slafter,  Edmund  F.,  ii.  79. 

Smith,  Buckingham,  i.  7,  12,  19, 
104,  180;  ii.41,  50,  147. 

Smith,  Capt.  John,  ii.  130. 

Snake  Indians,  the,  ii.  168. 

Soames's  Sound,  ii.  128. 

Society  of  Jesus,  the,  ii.  100,  113, 
122. 

Soissons,  Comte  de,  granted  vice- 
regal powers  in  New  France,  ii. 
190;  confers  tlicm  ujwn  Cliani- 
plain,  ii.  191  ;  death  of,  ii. 
191. 


Soli's,  Dr.  de  las  Meras,  i.  6 ;  ac- 
count of  Menendez'  expedition, 
i.  132,  134,  135,  137,  138,  139. 

"  Solomon,"  the,  i.  90. 

Sorel,  town  of,  ii.  166. 

Sorel  Kivcr,  the,  ii.  166. 

Soto,  Hernando  de,  conquest  of 
Peru  with  Pizarro,  i.  13;  ])laus 
to  concjuer  Florida,  i.  13  ;  treat- 
ment of  Indians  by,  i.  14  ;  dis- 
covers the  Mississippi,  i.  15; 
death  and  burial  of,  i.  16;  his 
fate  an  insufficient  warning  to 
adventurers,  i.  17. 

Souriu,  ii.  74. 

South  Seas,  the,  i.  104. 

Spain,  final  triumph  over  infidels 
of  Granada,  i.  9  ;  exalted  ideas 
of  America,  i.  9 ;  Florida  claimed 
by,  i.  19;  Papal  bull  gives 
Florida  to,  i.  19,  26 ;  jealousy 
of  France,  i.  19  ;  the  incubus  of 
Europe,  i.  20 ;  makes  good  its 
claim  to  "  Antarctic  France,"  i. 
32  ;  watching  to  crush  the  hope 
of  liumanity,  i.  33  ;  sends  expe- 
dition to  Florida,  i.  95  ;  subject 
to  the  monk,  the  inquisitor,  and 
the  Jesuit,  i.  96 ;  the  citadel  of 
darkness,  i.  97 ;  Catherine  de 
Medicis  turns  toward,  i.  101  ; 
ascendancy  of  the  policy  of,  i. 
101  ;  regarded  by  English  Puri- 
tans and  French  Huguenots  as 
their  natural  enemy,  i.  152 ; 
Charles  IX.  demands  redre.'^s 
for  massacres  in  Florida,  i.  153  ; 
refuses  redress,  i.  156;  Charles 
IX.  fast  subsiding  into  the 
deatldy  embrace  of,  i.  157; 
jealously  guards  America  from 
encroachments  of  the  Frencli, 
ii.  39-41. 

Spanish  Armada,  the,  Menendez 
given  command  of,  i.  179. 


310 


INDEX. 


Spanish  Florida,  efforts  to  plant 
a  colony  in  ancient,  i.  19. 

Sparks,  .larod,  i.  169;  ii.  5. 

Sladaroiio,  lanf;uage  of,  ii.  24. 

Stith,  ii.  147. 

Stow,  i.  91. 

Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  ii.  21,  22,  44. 

Stuart,  Mary,  of  Scotland,  espou- 
sals with  Francis  II.,  i.  25. 

Sturgeon  Lake,  ii.  229. 

Suffolk,  Lord,  ii.  1.54. 

Sullv,  ii.  65  ;  loses  his  power  under 
Marie  de  Medicis,  ii.  105. 

Susane.  ii.  174. 

Susquehanna  River,  the,  ii.  2.36. 

Suza,  Convention  of,  restores  New 
France  to  the  French  Crown,  ii. 
274. 

"  Swallow,"  the,  i.  90. 

Swan,  Major,  Indian  belief  in 
properties  of  the  "  black  drink," 
i.  167. 


Tadoussac,  efforts  to  establish 
fur-trade  at,  ii.  57,  63,  64,  69, 
151  ;  centre  of  the  Canadian 
fur-trade,  ii.  152  ;  fur-traders  at, 
ii.  186  ;  importance  as  a  trad- 
ing-station, ii.  246. 

Tadoussac,  Bay  of,  ii.  149. 

Talhot  Inlet,  i.  169. 

Tampa  Bay,  i.  12,  14. 

Tequenonquihaye,  Huron  town  of, 
ii.  225. 

Ternaux-Compans,  i.  4,  11,  12,  14, 
18,  50,  53,  106,  125,  127,  128, 
160;  ii.  35. 

Te.«souat,  Chief,  location  of  vil- 
lage of,  ii.  202;  remarkable 
graveyard  of,  ii.  203 ;  gives  a 
fe.ist  in  honor  of  Champlain,  ii. 
203,  204  ;  refuses  to  give  Cham- 
plain  canoes  and  men  to  visit 
the  Nipissings,  ii.  205. 


Tetu,  reveals  conspiracy  to  Cham- 
plain,  ii.  156. 

Thevct,  Andre,  i.  15,  29;  ii.  12, 
23,  24,  40,  46,  48,  49,  52. 

Thimagoa  Indians,  the,  i.  54,  57, 
59  ;  offer  to  point  out  gold  and 
silver  to  Ottigny,  i.  61  ;  Vas- 
seur  makes  alliance  with,  i.  62  ; 
Satouriona's  expedition  against, 
i.  63. 

Thomas,  Champlain's  interpreter, 
ii.  206. 

Thou,  De,  i.  5. 

Three  Rivers,  importance  as  a 
trading-station,  ii.  246. 

Thunder  Bay,  ii.  223. 

Ticonderoga,  Fort,  ii.  171. 

"  Tiger,"  the,  i.  90. 

Touaguainchain,  Huron  town  of, 
ii.  225. 

Tourmente,  Cape,  ii.  24. 

Trenchant,  i.  73,  75. 

Trent  River,  the,  ii.  229. 

"  Trinity,"  the,  flag-ship  of  Ribaut, 
i.  110,  112. 

Trinity,  Bay  of  the,  ii.  153. 

Turnel,  ii.  143,  144, 145. 

Two  Mountains,  Lake  of,  ii. 
196. 

Ulpius,  Euphrosynus,  globe  of,  ii. 
49. 

Vaca,  Alvar  Nunez  Cabe^a  de,  i. 
12;  false  reports  concerning 
Florida,  i.  13. 

Vasseur,  makes  alliance  with  the 
Thimagoas,  i.  61,  62 ;  makes 
false  report  to  Chief  Satouriona, 
i.  63 ;  takes  prisoners  back  to 
Chief  Outina,  i.  65  ;  promises  to 
join  Chief  Outina  against  King 
Potanou,  i.  66 ;  fidelity  to  Lau- 
donniere,  i.  72;  i.  93. 

Ventadour,  Due  de,  purchases  the 


INDEX. 


311 


viceroyalty  of  New  France  from 
the  Due  de  Montmorency,  ii.  252. 

Vera  Cruz,  i.  148. 

Verdier,  i.  9.3. 

Verneuil,  Marqui.se  de,  supports 
the  Jesuits,  ii.  110. 

Verrazzano,  Hieronimo  da,  ii.  49. 

Verrazzano,  John,  voyage  of,  i. 
19  ;  early  history  of,  ii.  14  ;  des- 
patched by  Francis  I.  to  find 
westward  passage  to  Cathay,  ii. 
14 ;  doubts  concerning  reality 
of  the  voyage,  ii.  14  ;  the  voyage 
begun,  ii.  15  ;  sights  the  coast 
of  North  Carolina,  ii.  15;  meet- 
ing with  the  Indians,  ii.  15; 
coasts  the  shores  of  Virginia 
or  Maryland,  ii.  17  ;  enters  the 
Bay  of  New  York,  ii.  17;  Long 
Island,  Block  Island,  and  New- 
port, ii.  17;  repelled  along  the 
New  England  coast,  ii.  18; 
coasts  the  seaboard  of  Maine 
and  readies  Newfoundland,  ii. 
18;  writes  earliest  description 
of  the  shores  of  the  United 
States,  ii.  19  ;  joyfully  received 
in  France,  ii.  19  ;  misfortunes  of 
France  ])revent  planting  a  col- 
ony in  America,  ii.  19;  few 
remaining  traces  of  fortunes  of, 
ii.  19 ;  hanged  as  a  pirate,  ii. 
20 ;  supposed  shipwreck  of,  ii. 
27  ;  theories  concerning  voyage 
of,  ii.  49,  50. 

Verreau,  Abbe,  ii.  50. 

Vicente,  i.  113. 

Viel,  Nicolas,  ii.  25.3. 

Viger,  Jacques,  ii.  5,  61, 

Vignau,  Nicolas  de,  volunteers  to 
winter  among  the  Indians,  ii. 
194;  return  to  Paris,  ii.  194; 
remarkable  report  brought  by, 
ii.  194,  195;  his  falsehoods  dis- 


closed, ii.  207,  209 ;  allowed  to 
go  unpunished,  ii.  211. 

Villafane,  Angel  de,  failure  to 
reach  Florida,  i.  18. 

Villaroel,  Gonzalo  de,  i.  175. 

Villegagnon,  Nicolas  Durand  de, 
i.  23 ;  exploits  of,  i.  24,  25 ; 
characteristics  of,  i.  24 ;  expedi- 
tion to  the  New  World,  i.  26; 
severity  of,  i.  27  ;  welcome  to 
new  colonists,  i.  28;  wrangles 
with  the  colonists,  i.  30 ;  pro- 
nounces Calvin  a  "  frightful 
heretic,"  i.  30 ;  religious  bigotry, 
i.  31  ;  returns  to  France,  i.  32 ; 
hot  controversy  with  Calvin,  i.32. 

Vimont,  ii.  201,  281. 

Vincclot,  ii.  154. 

Virginia,  English  colony  of,  ii.  121. 

Vitet,  ii.  8. 

Wake,  Sir  Isaac,  letter  from 
Charles  I.  explaining  restora- 
tion of  New  France  to  the 
French  Crown,  ii.  272. 

Wampum,  description  of,  ii.  243. 

Weir,  Lake,  i.  80. 

Wells  Beach,  ii.  77. 

West  Indies,  Champlaiu  visits,  ii. 
.59-61. 

White  Mountains,  the,  ii.  76. 

Willes,  ii.  8,  10. 

William  Henry,  Fort,  ii.  172. 

Williams,  Roger,  ii.  176. 

Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  site 
of,  ii.  15. 

Wolfe,  ii.  25. 

WytHeit,  map  of,  i.  5;  ii.  10,  11, 
ig,  38,  50. 

YoN'viLLE,  council  of  war,  i.  115. 
York  Beach,  ii.  77. 

Zacatecas,  mines  of,  i.  149. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAR  1  4  1953 

BOV  8  7  1953 

FEB  2  3  1954 

1955 
0EC2  61957 

APR  2  5  I960 
^i^V     4  1965 

NOV  251960 

MAY  2  4^951 

Form  L9-10m-6,'52(A1855)444 


3  1158  008740580 


i;^       hL 


A  A    001  178  442    8 


